The Search for Home
by Nameless2210
Summary: One son of Hades. One special little girl. Together they search for the one thing that for them had always been so elusive… Home.
1. Prologue

****Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson.****

 ** **The Search for Home****

 ** **Family****

 ** **Betas: Engineer4Ever and Siegfried01****

 **0 line break 0**

 **Prologue: A "Fated" Meeting**

It was a typical balmy night in London and, as with all other major metropolises around the world in this modern age, the city never slept. Thousands of people still walked its streets, worked their jobs and partied at its pubs and clubs.

Not all of those on the city's streets, however, were there of their own choice. One such homeless individual was a cute young girl with long black hair down until her hips, and an adorably rounded face that served to draw attention to her pair of striking gray eyes and delicate musculature. This young child, dressed in a ratty sweater several sizes too big that hung off her shoulders like a cloak, and an equally worn dress was currently hugging herself while sheltering under one of the city's many underpasses, one utterly devoid of any foot traffic at the late hour, as she lamented her fate.

 _Good job, Ophis! It's late and you're starving._ The young girl thought to herself self-deprecatingly. _You thought running away from the orphanage was a good idea? Look where it's got you now!_

The young girl shook her head at that though, _No! It was. All the bullying from the other kids that the adults always said never happened. I couldn't stand another moment of that! I_ _ **had**_ _to run away!_

Ophis' stomach rumbled then, reminding her of the fact she hadn't eaten the whole day. Not with the bullies stealing all her breakfast that morning before the field trip to the museum that she'd snuck away from.

 _But maybe I should have snuck some food along with me._ Not that doing so would have been easy, not when the adults at St. Mary's, the orphanage she grew up in, were determined to see her as a troublemaker and so watched her closely.

 _I'm going to die out here on the streets, ain't I? If not today, then someday soon…_ The young girl thought bitterly to herself as she slowly began to cry. _I don't want to die. I'm only six. I wish…_

"... someone would come and save me!" The little girl whimpered quietly into the bleak emptiness as she curled up into a ball and sobbed.

Unbeknownst to the child, as the words left her lips, the world lurched as the course of fate itself was redirected to fulfill her heartfelt wish.

Ophis had just finished crying and was drying her eyes on her long sweater sleeve when she noticed the shadows cast by the street lamps on the other side of the overpass begin to flicker, even though the light hadn't moved. Then, in total contradiction to everything she knew about the workings of the world she'd gleaned in her short life, the shadows began to twist into a strange oval-shape. A moment later a boy, perhaps ten or so, stumbled out of the strange shadow.

"Huh?" Ophis blinked, rendered dumb for a moment as she processed this shocking turn of events.

"Ow! That's it! I'm never doing that when tired again." The boy muttered to himself as he dusted himself off. He had black hair that looked like he just got out of bed, which he only made more messy as he tried to smooth it down. His pale olive skin made it seem as if he hadn't been out in the sun for a while. He was wearing black clothing with skeletal designs and…was that an honest to goodness sword in his hand?

"You can see my sword?" The boy asked, looking startled.

Having realized she'd spoken her thoughts about the sword aloud, Ophis was equally startled but recovered enough to reply with a, "Why shouldn't I? It's pretty eye-catching, being a sword and all."

"It's just…You shouldn't. Mortals can't." The pale boy stuttered out, obviously flustered.

 _Mortal?_ Somehow that word didn't seem right to her. "What did you call me, Shadow Boy?"

"Shadow Boy? Wha—" The boy began in a confused tone, before seemingly figuring things out and continuing in a more normal voice. "You saw me travel through the shadows too?"

 _I should be freaking out. All these strange things are happening in front of me…_ But Ophis was strangely calm. In fact, despite being in a situation straight out of a storybook, she was feeling as if all was right with the world in a way that she never had before.

"Are you a half-blood too?" The gothic boy asked.

"I beg your pardon!" Ophis cried out, scandalized.

"Wait, wh—oh right! Stupid me!" The rude boy groaned as he massaged his temples, as if to ward off a headache. "I didn't mean to insult you, I was just asking if you're a demigod too. You see, we sometimes call ourselves half-bloods."

"I see. Tha—" Anything else that Ophis would have said was cut off as her stomach rumbled loudly.

Ophis blushed delicately and pointedly looked away from the boy, trying in vain to calm herself.

"You on your way home for dinner, err… What's your name again? Mine's Nico. Nico di Angelo. Son of Hades." The boy said finally introducing himself.

"I'm Ophis Devin. And no, I wasn't heading home or on my way to get dinner." Ophis explained still looking away from Nico.

"Why not?" Nico asked curiously.

"Because I ran away from the orphanage." Ophis answered quietly.

The son of Hades heard her though, and exclaimed, "You live in a orphanage!? And you ran away?"

Ophis just glared at the boy and hissed, "yes!"

"Oh. Um…Sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I was just surprised is all." Nico defended himself sheepishly.

Ophis just looked at him with a gimlet eye.

"I'm serious." Nico continued in the face of the girl's disbelief. "I've got no family now either, so why would I insult you over being like me?"

"But you just said you're a son of Hades. Can gods even die?" Ophis asked, confused.

"Err…Hades isn't much of a father." Nico admitted while looking away in an attempt to hide the angry expression that crossed his face at talking about his father. "It's like not having a father at all."

"Oh. I'm sorry." Ophis apologized.

"It's not your fault. So you said that you ran away?" At Ophis' nod, Nico asked again, "Why?"

"The kids there were mean to me and the adults let them." The young girl explained.

"I see…" Nico trailed off and was quiet for a moment, before his face suddenly became determined. Looking Ophis in the eye, he asked, "You got any place to go?"

"No." Ophis said honestly. _Why am I telling him everything? I don't even know him. The adults back at St. Mary's always said not to talk to strangers, but… My gut is telling me I can trust him._

And Ophis trusted her gut instincts. It was what had saved her from the most humiliating and painful pranks the bullies used to pull on her. It had never failed her when she listened to it.

"I see. Well, I think I can help you there…" The Nico boy begun before the world seemed to freeze for Ophis.

Suddenly, she was overcome with images. Images that from previous experience were visions of what could be. In one set of images, Ophis saw Nico transporting her to a new orphanage where she would be taken in, and happy for a little while before things became just like at St. Mary's.

 _No! Nononono! Anything but that!_

In a second set of images, Ophis saw Nico offering to take her along and the two of them spending time together having fun.

 _Yes! This. I want this!_

At her command, the world lurched for the second time, as the course of the future was railroaded along a fixed path.

"...there. Want to come with me? It's going to be dangerous though. Life's like that for a demigod." Nico finished.

Bouncing excitedly on the balls of her feet, Ophis hastily replied, "Yes, please! I don't mind the danger. But are you sure you're ok with that?"

"Of course I am. I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't. So long as you don't mind the danger then everything's fine." Nico reassured the girl, before quietly muttering under his breath that, "This is what Bianca would have done. I'm sure."

Ophis was curious who Bianca was. A friend of Nico's? But she didn't want to jinx her good fortune.

Just then, Ophis' stomach decided it was high time to rejoin the conversation. With a loud rumble it announced to the world its emptiness.

"Well, the first order of business is getting you some dinner I guess—" Nico teased a blushing Ophis, only to be interrupted by his own growling stomach.

"Er…I guess I could get some too." He finished, embarrassed.

"Let's." Ophis cheered, as she wrapped herself around the arm not holding a sword.

"So know any good places to eat? Where are we anyway?" Nico asked.

"We're in London. And no, I don't know where there's good food." Ophis said disappointed that she couldn't be more help to her savior.

"Hey, no need to be down. It's my first time in London. So we can explore and find some good food together, 'k?" Nico said comfortingly.

Ophis just nodded.

With that the two children wandered off into the London night looking for a meal and thus marked the first steps towards becoming family for the both of them.

 **0 line break 0**

 **AN:**

 **Okay so this is my first Fanfic, so be gentle with the criticism. The whole story has been written and beta'd and I'll be releasing it during the course of today. So all of you can enjoy a finished product.**

 **Oh, and for those interested in a little foreshadowing, Devin can be traced back to the Divine in Latin, so make of that what you will.**

 **Lastly, this story, at least its basic concept, was partially inspired by _Never Leave Family Behind by Jessica Jayme Bell_**


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson.**

 **The Search for Home**

 **Family**

 **Betas: Engineer4Ever and Siegfried01**

 **0 line break 0**

 **Chapter One: Siblings**

A month later found Ophis and Nico in an abandoned warehouse somewhere in New York City, Ophis didn't know where for sure, meeting with Nico's mentor. It seemed, Nico was on a quest to resurrect his dead sister, Bianca, and by agreeing to go with him back in London she'd signed on for that too. Normally, Ophis didn't mind, it was just one big fun adventure for the little girl. Even when they ran into monsters, most of which seemed to run away from them when they met them, something that Nico found useful but odd. The few that didn't run, Nico took care of easily.

What Ophis didn't like about the quest was Nico's mentor: The ghost of King Minos, former king of Crete, as he arrogantly introduced himself when Ophis first him. The ghost gave the little girl the creeps and in a way that had nothing to do with him being dead. Nico was a son of Hades, he summoned dead things, spirits and reanimated skeletons all the time and they didn't upset her. Something that like the deal with the monsters Nico said was helpful but strange. No, what upset Ophis about Minos was just how shady he seemed.

Nico didn't seem to see it but Ophis just couldn't trust the man.

"I've tried everything, Minos. Every little trick you've suggested to summon Bianca's spirit. I've tried them. ALL of them." Nico said despairingly.

Ophis hugged him comfortingly, she hated when he was upset.

The son of Hades squeezed Ophis' hands that were clasped over his chest.

Minos looked on, a look of sympathy plastered on his spectral face.

"Then perhaps it is time to consider extreme measures, young Nico."

Minos spoke in Ancient Greek, but despite not being a half-blood as far as anyone they'd asked could tell, Ophis understood him all the same. In fact, she seemed to be able to understand all languages, spoken or written. To her they all appeared as if it was English. Yet another, bizarre but handy ability of Ophis'.

"What do you mean by that?" Nico asked, his hope rekindled.

"Well…" Minos dithered. "What I'm about to suggest is very, very difficult. In fact it's so difficult it's never been done before."

"I'll try it anyway." Nico said resolutely. "I'll try anything to get Bianca back."

Minos nodded, seemingly impressed with Nico's determination.

 _But was that satisfaction too? What's there to be satisfied about Nico working himself to death trying to do the impossible._ Ophis voiced nastily in her own mind. She'd never say those thoughts out loud though, because she knew it would break Nico's heart. Maybe even make him abandon her. And Ophis couldn't bear either.

"If you're sure, Nico, then the only option now is to attempt to make a deal with your father by trading "a soul for a soul." Find the soul of someone who cheated death and trade it for Bianca's." Minos explained.

"But where would I find someone like that?" Nico whined.

"Don't fret, my student. As it stands, I happen to know one such person." Minos reassured.

"Who?"

"Daedalus—" Minos began, only to be interrupted by Ophis.

"Didn't you die pursuing him? Are you getting Nico to get your revenge for you?" Ophis accused. Ever since she'd met Minos her distrust of him had driven her to do her best during the times Nico had stopped by a library to research the dead king, so she was very knowledgeable on his history. A fact that even Nico admitted, so when he heard Ophis' accusation, he joined her in giving Minos a hard look.

"I will not lie, My Lady." Minos said, using the overly formal title that he strangely insisted on using to refer to her. "Getting my well deserved revenge on Daedalus is indeed one reason why I suggest him. However, that does not change the fact that he fits the bill for the type of person we need."

"It's awfully convenient for you, though." Nico observed scathingly.

"It is. However, it does not make it any less true." Minos countered smoothly, looking unruffled by the accusation.

"True…" Nico sighed. "I don't like it but I have no choice."

 _Yes, you do! You can do so many other things._ Ophis pointed out in her own mind. _But you won't, you're completely set on bringing Bianca back._

The young girl was sorely tempted then to use her power to make things happen, which she'd taken to calling wishcraft, to make Nico change his mind and reject Minos' suggestion. She could already feel her power raising up to do just that, but she squashed it. She wasn't going to manipulate Nico like that. Not again.

"If we're agreed on this course of action, then I must take my leave." Minos said with a bow. "It will take some time to gather the information that will lead us to Daedalus, and it is best that I get started right away."

"Right. Thanks, Minos." Nico said with gratitude. Ophis just gave a half-hearted nod.

"Have a good day, Nico, My Lady." With that goodbye, Minos faded away, returning to the underworld.

"Well, that's over. Wanna go grab lunch, Oppy?" Nico asked using his new nickname for her.

Ophis just glared at her friend. "Don't call me that. My name is _Ophis._ And no, I think we should find a hotel first before we have lunch."

"Good idea, Oppy. Let's go!" Nico teasingly said as he sprinted out the warehouse.

Ophis happily chased after him, playfully shouting, "don't call me that!"

 **0 line break 0**

Normally, our two heroes would have simply headed over to the nearest hotel and get a room. They were after all only using the rooms to to spend the night, so they weren't particularly picky. Today however, things were different.

"Right there's a hotel, let's head in—" Nico began, but cut himself off as he saw Ophis shaking her head. "What's up, Ophis?"

"Not this one." At Nico's perplexed look, she continued. "I don't know why, but I just have a feeling like we should try some place else."

"This a new odd ability of yours?" Nico asked, unsurprised that his young companion seemed to have developed yet another new ability. He had gotten used to it by this point, it wasn't exactly the first time.

"No… I dunno… But I don't think so…" Ophis cautiously said. "It's more like someone is telling me that we can do better."

"Someone is whispering into your mind? Trying to manipulate you?" Nico demanded, tensing up.

"I don't think so. Whoever this is, isn't trying to hurt us. I think…I know this person is friendly." Ophis affirmed with a decisive nod of her head.

"You absolutely sure?" Nico asked, understandably still a little wary. At receiving another confirming nod from his friend, "alright then, I trust your instincts. If this is a trap though…"

"Stay behind you. I know, Nico! You keep reminding me." Ophis whined, crossing her little arms.

"I just don't want to see you hurt, Oppy." Nico said earnestly. Ophis was so touched she didn't even complain about the use of her nickname. In fact, she was so pleased with hearing how concerned Nico was about her, as if he was her big brother, that she blushed prettily and gave him a blinding smile.

"Err…This mysterious person leave any directions?" Nico said quickly to hide his own blush. He still wasn't used to the adoration that Ophis routinely showered him with.

"This way." Ophis said pointing up the street, oblivious to her companion's changing of the topic or his discomfort.

The duo were led by Ophis' received directions out of the city's more rundown suburbs into its prosperous upper class heart. Eventually they found themselves on Park Avenue, in front of the famous luxury hotel, the Waldorf Astoria New York. Both children were flabbergasted by this.

"Oppy, you sure this is the place?" Nico asked uncertainly.

"Don't call me that." Ophis complained automatically, before answering Nico just as uncertainly as he had asked the question. "And yes, I'm sure. The feeling is telling me that we have to go inside."

"Right. Let's go then." Nico said putting on a brave front, to hide his anxiety.

Ophis still looked a little uneasy but calmed when Nico took hold of her hand and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

Hand in hand, the two children walked into the grand lobby of the famous hotel.

The two received odd and even suspicious looks from many of the hotel's staff, guests and visitors. It wasn't a surprise though, the children weren't exactly dressed like they were supposed to be there. With their worn, cheap clothing, they stood out. Very much so.

The two children had barely taken a couple of steps into the lobby when the hotel manager rushed forward to meet them. At this sight, many of those observing the scene thought that she would promptly call security to have the kids escorted out. Instead, to the shock of all, the manager instead gave the two children a polite bow.

"Welcome to the Waldorf Astoria, Miss Devin, Mister di Angelo." The manager greeted our heroes. "I trust you have had a pleasant trip so far?"

Ophis startled by this sudden turn of events, hid herself behind Nico. The son of Hades gave her hand, which he was still holding, another reassuring squeeze.

Facing the manager, Nico spoke with as much confidence as he could muster, "Err… It's been fine. So… err… Do you have a room for us?"

"Of course, Mister di Angelo. Your aunt is already waiting for you in your suite." The manager explained.

"Aunt?" / "Nico's aunt?"

The manager smiled at their surprised exclamations. "Your aunt told me to expect that, she said this was a surprise for you two."

The two children shared looks, who could possibly be claiming to be Nico's aunt and want to surprise them? And not, hopefully, mean them harm in doing so?

Still clearly amused at their reactions, the manager spoke up, "would you like me to escort me to your suite? Your aunt is waiting."

Nico looked to Ophis, to get her opinion on what to do. The girl just nodded, a determined look on her face. It was time to see what was going on.

Receiving his friend's confirmation, Nico looked at the manager. "Lead the way."

The woman led them to a elevator and quickly secured one just for the children and herself, in the process preventing a number of the hotel's other guests from joining them in the cab.

"Why didn't you let them join us?" Ophis asked the manager, confused at her behavior.

"We can't have mortals joining you, our honored guests. It's better this way, My Lady." The manager said as her form seemed to shift, her ears sharpening, giving her an elfin look.

Pushing Ophis behind him, Nico drew his sword. "What are you?"

"My name is Fidi Douli, a nymph. I've been assigned to serve you My La… errr… I mean the two of you, Master di Angelo, Miss Devin." The newly revealed nymph introduced with a deep bow towards the two children.

"Who sent you?" Nico demanded, his sword still raised and ready for use at a moment's notice.

The nymph looked nervous, sending Ophis a strange look before seemingly firming her resolve, "I was born to serve…"

The nymph was not able to finish her sentence though, as it was just then that the elevator reached its destination and the doors began opening, through which a voice echoed out interrupting her.

"That's enough Fidi. Now is not the time."

"But My Lady…" Fidi exclaimed as she turned to face the source of the voice.

"I know, Fidi. But have patience." A eight-year-old girl with mousy brown hair and warm and cozy red eyes, wearing a simple brown dress that she complimented with a scarf over her head said. "Your time will come soon."

"I know. It's just… I've waited so long." Fidi bemoaned.

"I know. But as I said, have patience." The girl in the suite said. "For the time being though, leave us and let me meet the children, please."

"Of course, My Lady." Fidi said and with a deep bow to our two heroes and a noticeably shallower one to the the other girl, she transformed into a serpent with alternating black and white scales before disappearing altogether.

"I'm sorry the two of you had to see that, children." The brunette said apologetically to the other two children. "Fidi was just being a little too enthusiastic. Please forgive her."

"Are you the aunt of mine that the nymph was talking about?" Nico asked harshly, still tensed for a fight.

Before the older looking girl could answer, Ophis peeked her head from behind Nico and spoke up, "You're Lady Hestia! Goddess of hearth, home, the right ordering of domesticity, and family."

Hestia smiled. "Indeed I am, little one."

"What? Ophis, how did you know that?" Nico asked incredulously.

"I don't know… It's just like all the other funny things I know and can do… I just do." Ophis said feeling anxious as she always was when she tried to explain all her strange abilities.

"Hush!" Hestia said appearing suddenly next to Ophis, giving her a hug and patting her hair comfortingly. "It's alright. Don't worry about it, you'll figure things out eventually."

Startled by Hestia's sudden teleportation, Nico whirled around leveling his sword to face the goddess.

"Put down your sword, nephew." Hestia ordered, wisps of fire leaking out of her eyes. "I'm not your enemy."

"Like I'm going to believe you, just because you say so!" Nico retorted. "Let Ophis go."

Twisting in Hestia's comforting arms, Ophis faced Nico. "Hestia is our friend, Nico. Put the sword away."

"Ophis…You sure?" Nico asked skeptically.

"Absolutely." Ophis affirmed.

"Is this one of your feelings?" Nico asked once more, his tone no less demanding, but the tip of his sword had dipped noticeably.

"Not completely. It's based on the myths too. In them, Hestia is always shown to be kind. She wouldn't mean us harm." Ophis explained.

"Alright. I trust _you_." Nico conceded as he put away his sword. Ophis missed his emphasis, but if Hestia's approving nod was anything to go by, the goddess did not.

"Thank you, nephew, for trusting me." Hestia said as she rejoined the conversation.

"Yes, thank you Nico!" Ophis said as she ran out of Hestia's hug to give Nico one of her own.

Returning his friend's hug, Nico continued eyeing the goddess and asked, "why did you do this, Lady Hestia?"

"Before I answer, perhaps we should move this into the living room? I suspect the other guests in the hotel would like to use the elevator too." Hestia replied amusedly.

Embarrassed by what their actions had caused, both Ophis and Nico quickly followed the goddess as she guided them to the suite's living room.

Gesturing to the the expensive looking, possibly antique, sofa set, Hestia offered the two children seats. "This is your new home now, please feel free to take a seat."

Ophis promptly took a jumping leap onto the central sofa, before laying down and curling up like a cat.

The son of Hades gave his friend an indulging smile but remained standing. He wasn't going to relax until he had some answers.

"You're just giving this to us? Why?"

"All families need a home. As the goddess of the home, is it not fitting for me to provide the two of you one?" Hestia replied.

"If that's how you feel then how come you don't do that for all the homeless people in the world?" Nico asked snidely.

"There are limits to even the power of a goddess, nephew." The goddess in the guise of a child said sadly.

With a smack to Nico's arm, Ophis scolded him, "Nico! Stop being mean to Hestia!"

"Sorry, Ophis. It's just…" Nico began, He didn't finish his sentence. He couldn't bring himself to, it would make him sound like a fool. After all, it was silly of him to feel jealous of the goddess just because Ophis seemed to have some kind of instant connection to her.

"Just what?" Ophis said looking at Nico sternly, even putting her hands on her hips to make herself look more authoritative. A action that unbeknownst to either child brought an amused smile to the watching goddess' face.

"Forget it. I was just being silly." Nico replied nervously.

"You over it?" The young dark haired girl demanded.

"Yes."

"Ok then." Ophis said satisfied. She trusted Nico. If he said he was over it, then she believed him.

"The two of you are a truly wonderful family." Hestia commented.

"Thank you, Hestia. But we aren't a family. We're just friends." Ophis replied, sounding disappointed.

"Are you?" Hestia said with an almost mischievous smile, "You two look like a pair of very close siblings to me. And I _am_ the goddess of family."

Nico and Ophis were both surprised by the goddess' declaration. They were close, sure, but to have it spelled out for them — by the goddess of family no less — was still quite dumbfounding.

Hestia smiled at the incredulous children and swept her arms to gesture to the room. "This suite, as I explained earlier, is my gift to you two. It will always be waiting for you, and can be accessed from any elevator, anywhere in the world. When you want to come home, all you need to do is find an empty elevator and call for Fidi, she'll transport you back here."

"Woah! That's so cool." Ophis enthused. "Can I go look around? I'm wanted to since we got here, but I wanted to wait till you finished talking, but you just keep talking and… Just, can I?"

At nods from both Nico and Hestia, the young girl let out a happy squeal before she scurried off to explore her new abode.

Nico was as impressed as Ophis was, he'd have to be a fool not to be. The goddess had just gifted the both of them with a suite in one of the most luxurious hotels in the world to serve as their home. Despite that though he was still suspicious of the whole thing.

"Who is that nymph anyways?"

"That I'm afraid is not my story to tell. You'll have to ask her and she'll only tell you when it is time." Hestia answered. "Rest assured though, she will not harm you and cannot even dream of doing so to Ophis."

The son of Hades took notice about the special distinction the goddess made about his companion. He'd increasingly gotten the idea that Ophis wasn't just a clear-sighted mortal as he'd initially suspected. He'd be stupid not to, what with the increasing number of strange powers she seemed to be developing, but now for the first time he was getting the idea that whoever Ophis really was might be truly incredible.

"She is." Hestia confirmed.

"Did you just read my mind?" Nico asked with a guarded look, discomfort plain to see in his hunched shoulders and tensed jaw.

Ignoring his outburst, Hestia continued. "That's why you need to take very good care of her. Is that clear?"

The goddess reinforced this order with a small show of her power. Her eyes literally coming alight with fire and her form becoming enshrouded with an aura of fiery will-o-wisps that flickered like a star.

Nico however was unimpressed. "You can stop with the lightshow, Lady Hestia. I'll take good care of Ophis, alright, but it won't be because of any threat you or anyone makes."

The goddess smiled as she restrained her power. "And that's what makes you the perfect big brother for our Ophis."

"Our Ophis?" Nico questioned.

Hestia just smiled enigmatically and said nothing.

Nico was about to press when Ophis burst back into the living room.

"Nico, I'm hungry." The young girl declared as she ran up to the boy.

Hestia laughed lightly at this. "Well then, I'll tell Fidi to send up some room service for the both of you as I leave then."

"You're leaving?" Ophis asked the goddess with a pout.

The goddess just gave the little girl a regretful smile. "Yes, I'm afraid so. I've stayed too long as is. I promise to visit again."

"You promise?"

"On the Styx." Hestia confirmed as the sound of thunder echoed to signify her making of a solemn oath.

The two children just looked at her in shock at this.

Laughing lightly at the looks on the children's faces, the goddess transformed into wisps of flame and disappeared.

"Goodbye, nephew, Ophis. See you soon." Her voice echoed in the air as her presence faded.

 **0 line break 0**

A couple hours later the two children were watching a Disney movie of Ophis' choice on the living room's big screen after a sumptuous lunch courtesy of the Waldorf Astoria's kitchens. They were joined by the strange nymph from the elevator, Fidi, who had brought up their meal shortly after Hestia had left. Nico didn't trust the nymph or the situation in general but Ophis seemed to like the creature and the suite, so he didn't say anything.

He did speak up though when he saw Ophis' eyes start to droop, the day's excitement and the heavy lunch finally catching up to her.

"You're falling asleep, Oppy."

"Am not." The sleepy little girl denied.

"Oh? Then why is it that you can barely keep your eyes open?"

"I'm just resting them a bit is all."

"Really? Then what about those little snores of yours?" Nico cracked a smug grin.

"I don't snore!" Ophis defended while trying to glare at her friend, but in her exhaustion only managed a squinty-eyed look.

"No, you don't." Nico conceded. "But you _are_ falling asleep."

"Am not. Fidi tell him."

With an indulgent smile on her face, the servant replied, "I'm afraid you are, my mistress. Perhaps it's time for a nap?"

Ophis looked ready to argue but a huge yawn escaped her just as she was about to speak, causing her to sheepishly turn to her companions. "Ok. So maybe I _could_ use a nap."

Laughing good naturedly at his friend's behavior, he stepped towards where she'd curled up on the couch and offered his hand. "Come on, let's get you to bed. I'll tuck you in."

With a smile, the sleepy little girl nodded and took his hand.

Nico carefully guided Ophis to the bedroom she'd picked out for herself and helped her into bed, before tucking her in. Fidi shadowing the duo all the while.

"Have a nice nap, Oppy." Nico said as he gave the girl a goodnight kiss on the forehead.

"Don't call me Oppy." Ophis shot back with a slight slur, before drifting off into sleep.

Nico waited until he was sure that Ophis was asleep before turning to Fidi and gesturing for them to leave. The nymph hesitated for a moment, but after a glance at Ophis' sleeping form, nodded and led them out of the girl's bedroom.

"Fidi, I want you to answer some questions." Nico demanded of the nymph the moment he was finished closing the room's door.

The nymph for her part was unsurprised. "Of course, you wouldn't be a worthy protector of my mistress if you didn't at least find recent developments suspicious. Very well, I'll answer what questions of yours that I can."

"Not all of them?" Nico asked, his suspicions rising again.

"Some answers I'm afraid I'm bound by powerful Oaths to not provide. Not yet." Fidi explained simply.

"I see." Nico replied unhappily. He really wanted Fidi to tell him everything but he knew the power of Oaths. Even in his short time since discovering he was a demigod, he'd already had his fair share of experience with their might.

"Why don't you go take a seat in the living room, Nico." Fidi suggested. "I'll go make us some hot chocolate and we can talk whilst we have that for tea?"

Nico frowned, he wanted to get his answers now. But he guessed it would rude to reject the offer, especially when Fidi was only trying to make them both more comfortable when she explained.

"Alright."

With a smile, Fidi nodded and headed over to the kitchen. Nico followed her down the hall but headed into the living room instead.

A few minutes later, the two were seated comfortably on the expensive chairs of the room's sofa set, mugs of hot chocolate in their hands.

"You had questions, Nico?" Fidi said first.

"Who are you really, Fidi?" Nico asked, his body tense and his eyes narrowed.

"Me? I'm Fidi Douli, the Serpent's Handmaiden. A serpent nymph born with the sole purpose of serving my mistress, the Lady Ophis."

"You were born to serve Ophis?" Nico asked incredulous.

"Yes. And now after centuries of waiting I can finally fulfill my purpose." Fifi declared with pride.

"Centuries?"

"Yes, centuries. I born was too early, you see. Don't know why. I was supposed to be born before my mistress, to prepare the way for her, but not by centuries. Thankfully Lady Hestia found me and took pity on me and let me serve her until I found my true mistress."

"That's why you were working with Lady Hestia to prepare this suite for us?"

"For Lady Ophis, yes." Fidi corrected.

"What am I? An extra?" Nico asked, affronted.

"You are My Lady's chosen protector. Which, mind you, is the only reason I'm allowing you here, much less being civil with you." Fidi admitted.

Nico glared at the nymph, but Fidi was utterly unfazed.

"Any other questions?" The serpent nymph asked after a moment of silence.

The son of Hades was startled a little by this, and took a moment to recompose himself.

"Yes, yes I do." Nico confirmed.

"Ask away."

"Who is... Ophis…. really?" Nico asked, unsure if he even really wanted to know the answer.

"I'm afraid Oaths prevent me from telling you that, Nico." Fidi said apologetically. "Only when my mistress discovers that for herself can I tell anyone."

"Oh." The son of Hades uttered quietly, in a mix of both disappointment and relief.

"That said, Nico, is my mistress' nature really that important to you?" The nymph asked in a seemingly unconcerned manner that was belied by the sharp look she leveled at the demigod as she spoke. "Will knowing the truth change anything you feel about her?"

" _No!_ " Nico exclaimed reflexively. A word that, as it left his mouth, he knew to be true.

A serpentine forked tongue shot out of Fidi's mouth then as she seemingly scented the air. "Hmm…You really _do_ mean that. Good, good. You truly are a worthy protector of my mistress."

"Well, thank you for the vote of confidence." Nico replied sarcastically. _Who was this lady to decide who was and wasn't worthy of taking care of Ophis? If she really was Ophis' servant then where in the world was she when Ophis was homeless on the streets of London?_

"I was trying to hunt my mistress down of course." Fidi spoke in a self-deprecating voice in answer to his unspoken question.

"How? Did you read my mind?" Nico hissed angrily, mindful of keeping his voice down to avoid disrupting Ophis' sleep.

"No. But based on the scent of your emotions I could tell what you were thinking."

 _Scent?_ Eye drifting to Fidi's forked tongue, Nico joined the dots. _She's using that tongue of hers to smell how I feel. Well, if she can do that…_

"If that tongue of yours is so great, why didn't it let you track down Ophis when she needed you?" The son of Hades accused.

"The same reason why the gods, except those I told like Lady Hestia, didn't even know of my mistress' existence until you found her." Fidi dismissed. "She was hidden."

"Hidden? Who would do that?"

Fidi's mouth moved then, as if she was speaking, but no words came out. Seemingly catching onto this after a moment, the nymph sighed.

"I heard that."

"You would. My Oaths prevent me, literally, from revealing the secrets they protect. A sigh isn't covered under that."

"I see." Nico said disheartened as he realized that Fidi physically _couldn't_ give him all the answers he wanted, before brightening for a moment as an idea hit him. "What if I learnt how to lip read?"

"Then I imagine that my Oaths will prevent me from telling you what I know in some other way than temporarily stealing my voice."

"Are these secrets _that_ important?"

"They are _worldchanging_ , Nico."

"Then one way or another I'm going to figure them out." Nico replied with determination. "To better protect Ophis."

Fidi just gave the boy an approving nod.

 **0 line break 0**

As Nico and Fidi were having their discussion, Ophis dreamed.

 _The black haired little girl found herself in some kind of tunnel, one lined with Greek columns. A place that she somehow knew was part of the legendary Labyrinth of Daedalus._

 _Why am I here?_

" _So you can meet me I think." An amused voice said from behind Ophis._

 _Spinning around to face the voice, Ophis found herself looking at someone she had never met but recognized all the same. And not because her strange powers were telling her who it was. For once she knew this person because she'd heard the girl described countless times before._

 _Before her stood a olive skinned girl, with a lean figure, silky dark hair and black eyes that gleamed with mischief._

 _This was Bianca di Angelo. Nico's elder sister, who he was determined to bring back to life._

" _Bianca?" Ophis cried out in surprise._

" _That's me." The older girl replied cheekily._

" _Why are you here? How are you here? Where is here? This is a dream, isn't it? I remember taking a nap…" Ophis babbled._

 _Bianca just giggled at the younger girl's confusion for a moment, before speaking up to reassure her, "Calm down, Ophis. Yes, this is a dream."_

" _Then why are you here? Wait! Before that, how do you know my name? Are you really the real Bianca?"_

 _Still visibly amused by the younger girl's babbling, Bianca replied, "Yes, I'm the real Bianca. But you know that already don't you,_ _ **Lady Ophis**_ _."_

 _Ophis froze as Bianca invoked her name. Her eyes glowing with a aura equal parts black and white, the little girl nodded. In a voice echoing with power she spoke, "_ _ **I do.**_ "

" _And do you know the answers to the rest of your questions, My Lady?" Bianca asked in as polite a voice as she could manage._

 _Ophis nodded. "_ _ **You've been watching Nico ever since you died and saw him meeting me, that's how you know my name. And you're here now because**_ **I** _**summoned you.**_ "

" _That right, My Lady." Bianca said with nod. "You're getting quite the hang of your power aren't you?"_

 _Ophis didn't reply, instead she give a full body shiver as she lost her hold on her power._

" _Opps. I think I jinxed it. Sorry, Ophis." Bianca apologized._

" _It's… err… ok…" Ophis hesitantly replied. "I think I was at my limits anyways."_

" _Oh. Well… You'll get better. You just need practice."_

 _The younger girl nodded._

" _How did you know to call up my power like that? Do you know what I am?" Ophis asked hopefully._

" _Sorry I can't tell you that, Ophis. As a spirit of the dead I can tell what you are, but powerful magic has been woven to keep most people from just telling you who you are. So…" Bianca rubbed the back of her head sheepishly at that._

" _Oh." Ophis said in clear disappointment._

" _Hey! Don't pull a long face. That just means you're gotta figure it out yourself, doesn't it?"_

" _But that's hard!" The little girl whined._

" _Well, of course it is." Bianca said with a laugh. "But I have faith that you can do it, Ophis."_

" _Thanks." The younger girl replied uncertainly. "I'll try my best?"_

" _That's the best I can hope for I guess." Bianca said with a shrug. "So what did you summon me for and why here, do you know? 'Cos I sure don't."_

 _Ophis scrunched her face in thought, an action that made her so adorable it made Bianca coo at her, for a moment before nodding._

" _We're here in the Labyrinth because this is where Nico has to go to find Daedalus."_

" _Not to do that silly swap idea I hope. 'Cos if that's his plan and you're helping, I'm going to be very upset with the both of you." Bianca said sternly._

 _Cowering a little under Bianca's authoritative big sister display, Ophis quickly shook her head. "I don't think so. I don't think he's gonna really do the switch but he's still gotta find Daedalus. That's what my power is telling me at least. I'm not sure why but he's got to, though."_

" _Well, ok then." Bianca said abruptly lightening up. The change was so quick that Ophis almost got whiplash just observing it._

" _So why did you summon me then?" Bianca asked again._

" _Er… Well…" Ophis stuttered, suddenly very nervous._

" _Oh come on! None of that! Just spit it out already. I won't bite." Bianca said jokingly._

 _Gathering her courage, Ophis nodded and spoke up, "I summoned you, Bianca, because I wanted to ask you whether it was ok for me to think of Nico as my big brother. To be part of your family. I'd only do it if you—"_

 _Ophis was interrupted when Bianca suddenly pulled her into a light hug._

" _Of course it is, silly." The dead girl said as she kissed the younger girl's hair lovingly. "First off, I don't get a say in what you want to think of Nico anyways. And even if I did, of course I'd love it if you thought of him as your big brother."_

 _Ophis tried to say something but, squashed as she was in Bianca's embrace, it just came out as unintelligible mumbles._

" _Second," Bianca continued, "there's no need to ask to be part of the family._ _ **You already are.**_ _After all, haven't you been the one taking care of that silly brother of ours for the past month? Hmm?"_

" _Thank you! Thank you!" A teary Ophis finally managed to say through her happy tears._

" _Hey now, don't cry." Bianca said comfortingly._

" _Yes, Big Sister." Ophis forced through her sniffles as she fought to stop her tears. "It's just, I'm just so happy."_

 _Bianca just smiled down at her new little sister, "Me too. Don't tell Nico, but I've always wanted a Little Sister."_

" _Really?"_

" _Yes, really. I love Nico, but he's such a boy!" Bianca said with a smirk, one which seemed to fall as soon as it appeared._

 _Noticing this, Ophis became concerned. "What's wrong?"_

" _Looks like our time is up, Little Sister." BIanca said with a sad smile._

" _Huh? What do you mean?" The younger sister asked even as she herself began to notice what her dead sibling had meant. All around the two girls the surroundings were fading to black, even Bianca's form was fading away._

" _Big Sister!" Ophis cried out in alarm. She tried to call on her power like she had earlier, to extend this dream but Bianca's next words stopped her._

" _It's ok, Oppy. It's time for us to part."_

" _But…"_

" _It was fun, but you can't live in dreams, Little Sister."_

 _Bianca tightened their hug one last time and as she faded into nothingness said, "Take care of yourself, Oppy. And take care of Nico too."_

In her grand bed in her new bedroom, the mysterious little girl known as Ophis spoke in her sleep, "I will, Big Sis."

 **0 line break 0**

A couple days later, Nico and Ophis were in the dining room of their suite playing a game of Mythomagic. They had come back a little over three hours ago after yet another long, hard and ultimately fruitless day of searching for Daedalus through his Labyrinth and after a wonderful dinner courtesy of Fidi and the Waldorf Astoria's kitchens had settled down to relax.

"...and with that I win!" Ophis cheered triumphantly.

"Congratulations, Mistress." Fidi complimented.

With an indulging smile on his face, Nico added his own congratulations, "Good job, kiddo." The son of Hades smirked, and added. "You finally managed it without cheating with your wishcraft."

Ophis pouted, her good mood deflated by the reminder of her power. "I apologized about that already."

Fidi shot the young demigod a glare at his upsetting of her mistress, but Nico ignored her. All his attention was on Ophis as he quickly sought to comfort her, "Hey! I didn't mean it like that! I really mean it when I said you did a good job."

"Really?"

"Really." Nico confirmed with a solid nod.

Ophis just smiled brightly at that. Nico was a great big brother, even if he didn't know that was how she thought of him yet. Even though Ophis was using her wishcraft on him to make him do things, he'd forgiven her anyways. He'd even forgiven her for making him take her along in the first place, all that time ago back in London.

She still remembered the scene from yesterday where she'd eventually worked up the courage to tell him the truth of what had happened.

 **Flashback**

"Nico, can I tell you something?" Ophis asked the older boy nervously as they headed back to their suite after spending a whole day exploring the Labyrinth for clues to where Daedalus could be and finding nothing.

"Sure. You tell me stuff all the time. Why are you even asking?" Nico asked, confused by the six year old's question. And a little concerned too, since she was looking very nervous. What could possibly have gotten her so worked up?

"Well, it's important…and…um…" Ophis trailed off uncertainly as she stopped climbing the stairs of the old parking garage that they'd found themselves in as they exited the Labyrinth.

"Well, I'm all ears." The son of Hades said as he stopped too and turned to smile reassuringly at his friend.

Ophis bit her lip uneasily. _Should I really do this? What if after I tell Nico, he asks me to leave? I don't think I can handle that._ The little girl's eyes began to water at the very thought, but she blinked the tears away. _**No!**_ _?I_ _ **have**_ _to do this. I'm not going to let Nico keep me around because of a lie. it's not fair to him._

 _But what if after you tell him, he abandons you?_ A treacherous part of Ophis' mind whispered. The little girl shook her head of these thoughts though, and donned a determined expression. _I gotta trust Nico won't do that. He_ _ **won't**_ _!_

"Err…Ophis, you okay?" Nico asked concerned, squinting his eyes at her. "You zoning out on me?

"What?" Ophis replied eloquently as she was startled out of her internal pep talk. "I'm…err…fine. Just thinking."

"If you say so." Nico replied, sounding skeptical. "So, you said you had something important to tell me?"

"I do." Ophis said as she sucked in a breath and gathered her courage. "Err...You know that day back in London when we first met?"

"Yup. How could I possibly forget the day I met you." Nico replied earnestly.

Blushing at the son of Hades' response, Ophis nonetheless soldiered on with her confession. "Well… I've not been totally honest with you with what I did that day."

"Watcha mean?"

"That day when I met you…I kinda…maybe…accidentally used my wishcraft to make you take me with you."

"You—" Nico began, but was cut off as Ophis spoke over him in a babble as she desperately tried to explain what she'd done.

"My power…it showed me that you might not take me with you…that you'd just drop me off at an orphanage and I didn't want that…so I used my power…my wishcraft to make you take me adventuring with you. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have made you do something with my power. It was wrong. But I was scared and desperate and didn't kno—"

Ophis' rambling apology was cut short when Nico put his hand over her mouth, the girl still mumbling muffled words.

"Ok. Ok. I get it. Now calm down, will ya, Oppy?" Nico coaxed with an exasperated smile. "You're rambling. Now I'm gonna take my hand away, are you gonna keep going?"

Chastised, Ophis just shook her head.

"Good. Now speak slowly." The boy said as he removed his hand.

"I'm sorry for what I did, Nico." Ophis said immediately.

"What's there to be sorry about anyways?" Nico asked sounding genuinely confused.

 _Didn't I just explain why? Maybe he didn't hear me because I was talking too fast?_

"For using my wishcraft on you in London—"

"Oh that!" Nico said with a look of realization. "Why are you saying sorry for that?"

Ophis just gave Nico a confused look. Seeing this, Nico responded by elaborating, "So you used your power on me so I made the best decision in my life? Why would I be angry at that?"

Ophis just looked at Nico slack jawed, even as her heart swelled with warmth.

 **Flashback End**

"...to Ophis. Earth to Ophis. Can you hear me?" Nico's said as he shook her shoulder.

"Wha—?" Ophis replied as her consciousness was dragged back into the present.

"Good. You're back." Nico gave a relieved sigh, before flashing Ophis a lazy teasing smirk. "Daydreaming again, Oppy?"

Blushing, Ophis nodded. "Sorry, Nico."

 _I really shouldn't have been so distracted like that. I must've worried Nico when I drifted off. But I couldn't help it, the pull of the memory was just so strong… so real…. Is this another one of my weird powers?_

"Oppy?" Nico said flicking her forehead lightly. "You with me?"

"Ow!" The little girl cried out as she rubbed the spot on her head where Nico had flicked her. "Did you _have_ to do that?"

"You were zoning out again. So, yeah."

"Be gentler next time." Ophis demanded with a pout.

"No promises." Nico said seriously.

Ophis was thrilled by that, because she understood what Nico had left unsaid when he said that. He was telling her, that in the end, he'd do anything to make sure she didn't zone out completely. That he'd do everything he could to protect her, even from her own powers.

"Thank you, Nico."

"No problem, Oppy."

Just then, Fidi entered the room with a small suitcase. "My Lady's suitcase is ready, Nico."

"Thanks, Fidi." The nymph just nodded.

"Suitcase?"

 _What's this about? I didn't even notice Fidi was missing and then suddenly she's back with a packed suitcase for me? What's going on here?_

"I asked Fidi to pack your stuff for Camp Half-Blood." Nico explained.

"But I didn't say I would go. Didn't I say I wanted to stay with you?" Ophis demanded angrily. "Fidi why did you help him?"

"My apologies, mistress. But going to Camp Half-Blood really is the safest option." Fidi replied as she gave Ophis an apologetic bow.

"But—"

Nico cut Ophis' counterargument off before it began with his own. "Ophis. I know you want to stay with me, but the Labyrinth is dangerous. The last two days is proof of that. How many monsters and death traps have we barely escaped from so far? Dozens!"

"I can take care of myself. My powers—"

"You can't control your powers, Oppy. Not well enough for some place as dangerous as the Labyrinth."

"Nico! I don't wanna go~!" Ophis whined, having exhausted all her valid arguments.

"Ophis. Please for me." Nico said pleadingly. "I won't put my **Little Sister** in danger! I've already lost one sister, I won't—"

Ophis was stunned. "You called me your—"

"Little Sister?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Because that's what you are." The son of Hades said matter-of-factly.

Ophis burst into happy tears at Nico's statement and lunged forward to hug him.

Still smothered by his Little Sister's embrace, Nico asked, "So you'll agree to go to Camp Half-Blood?"

"Only if you call me _that_ again." Ophis said as her happy tears continued to flow down her cheek and she embraced her big brother.

"So long as you're safe, I'll call you whatever you want Little Sister." Nico said earnestly as he kissed the top of his sister's head.

 **0 line break 0**

 **AN:**

 ** **Hmm... Some of you might be wondering why Bianca was so accepting of Ophis. Well mainly she'd motivated by waiting to keep Nico happy and she's seen the best way to do that is keeping Ophis happy and that's why she accepted Ophis so easily.****


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson.**

 **The Search for Home**

 **Family**

 **Betas: Engineer4Ever and Siegfried01**

 **0 line break 0**

 **Chapter Two: Friends**

Chiron, the legendary trainer of heroes, was having a good day. Well, as good a day as it could be when he was preparing his young charges for a war with the Titans and more immediately an invasion of their home, Camp Half-Blood, by the Titans' forces.

That aside, between the magically ensured good weather and being allowed some quiet time in the morning for himself, the new trainer Quintus was covering the lesson he usually had at this hour, the ancient centaur was feeling downright cheerful.

Perhaps it was because of this that the Fates decided to throw him a curveball. The old ladies could be spiteful like that.

Chiron was just heading out of the Big House and down to the archery range for a lesson when a shadowy corner of the porch came alive for a moment before spitting out two young children, a boy and girl. The latter of which was dragging along a suitcase and had a single massive snake draped over her tiny shoulders.

If it had been most other beings, they would have been startled enough by this development to do something incredibly embarrassing. Chiron however was made of sterner stuff, and despite his surprise, his only reaction was a raised eyebrow.

"Chiron," the boy spoke first, "do you remember me?"

"Of course I do, Nico." Chiron replied. He remembered _all_ his students. _Though he has changed quite a bit since I last saw him. Paler skin, goth clothing. Yes, he certainly has changed. But that's to be expected after coming into his powers as a son of Hades. That's not the only change he's been through since I last saw him though, his closeness with his little companion is interesting._

"Good. Err…" Nico said falteringly, turning to his companion. The little girl just gave him a bewildered look back. It was quite unexpectedly the snake which saved the situation for the boy.

With a irritated hiss, the snake turned to address Chiron, "Greetings Chiron, trainer of heroes, I am Fidi Douli and on behalf of my mistress," Here the snake used a tilt of its head to indicate the girl it was riding on, "and this tongue-tied son of Hades, I would like to request sanctuary for My Lady Ophis."

Chiron's eyes flew wide open at the name "Ophis." He didn't know any being by that name but as the name reached his ears, he was overcome by a sense of deep familiarity and immense power. Turning to look sharply at the young girl, he asked in as calm a voice as he could considering the powerful sensations her name had conjured in him, "Your name is Ophis, my dear?"

Apparently feeling shy, the powerful being reached out a hand to clutch Nico's own and only after receiving a reassuring squeeze, nodded her head.

"And you would like to stay here in Camp Half-Blood?" the ancient immortal asked the skittish girl.

Receiving another encouraging squeeze of her hand from Nico, she nodded.

 _They're like siblings almost._

Turning to Nico, his face stern, he asked, "Nico, I take it from your mutual familiarity that the two of you have known each other for some time."

"Yeah, I met Oppy-I mean-Ophis a month ago."

"If that's the case then why is it that you are now unable to care for her? You are after all not returning to camp alongside Ophis, are you?" Chiron said leveling the boy with a firm look.

"No, I'm not coming back. But you already figured that out, just like you knew I was a son of Hades." Nico accused.

"I did not." Chiron refuted. "I suspected, but until you arrived here via Shadow Travel, I was not certain."

"You—" Nico hissed, visibly angry.

 _He probably thinks I'm lying and deliberately did not tell him so as to, for some reason, stifle his training. Truly, the children of the Big Three can be so difficult._ The trainer of heroes reasoned to himself as he observed the boy's anger.

Thankfully, the situation was calmed before it could escalate further by the little girl putting a comforting arm on Nico's shoulder and whispering his name softly.

"Look, Chiron. I'm going on a dangerous mission right now. One that's going to take me to places too dangerous for Ophis. Can you take care of her for me, or not?" Nico asked, still sounding belligerent.

"It would be an honor, Nico, Ophis, Fidi." Chiron said with a bow.

The two children blinked a little at his show of respect, but the snake — no probably, some special kind of nymph — just nodded her head in approval.

"Thanks, Chiron." Nico ground out in sharp contrast to the little girl's far more polite, "thank you, Mr Chiron."

Chiron just smiled at the children.

The son of Hades ignored him though and instead turned to his companion, "Little Sister, you sure you have everything?"

 _So they have a sibling relationship after all. Though…if her power is anything to go by, not one by blood._

"Umm." The girl said as she nodded shyly, "Fidi packed everything for me. You asked her to."

"I know. I just want to be sure."

"Worry not, Nico. I'll take care of my mistress." Fidi the snake hissed reassuringly.

Nico just nodded, before looking at Ophis for a long moment. Chiron had seen scenes like this often enough that he knew the boy was torn between staying with his sister and his nebulous mission.

"Rest assured, Nico. I will do everything in my power to keep Ophis safe." Chiron said to help the boy along.

Nico turned gimlet eyes on the centaur. "You're not going to ask me about my mission?"

"No. If you're leaving your sister behind then it has to be important." Chiron replied.

"And what if I'm working for the Titans?"

"Then you would not have brought Ophis here for sanctuary." Chiron said with finality, mildly amused at the blatantly baseless challenge.

The son of Hades looked away.

For a moment there was a tense silence on the porch, punctuated by Ophis' fidgeting and Fidi's rolling of her eyes.

Finally, Nico seemed to decide that he'd wasted enough time verbally sparing with the trainer of heroes and so turned to his sister and gave her a hug that she eagerly returned.

"I'm going now, Ophis." Nico said as he stepped back. "Stay safe, ok?"

"I will, Big Brother." Ophis replied a little sadly. "Good luck!"

With one final parting look at Chiron that non-verbally threatened retribution if anything happened to his sister, Nico stepped into a convenient shadow and vanished.

For a beat there was silence on the porch as all its occupants stared at the spot where Nico had disappeared into the darkness of the shadows.

It was broken not by Chiron, but the mysterious young girl with the innocent question of, "now what?"

 **0 line break 0**

Ophis had an enjoyable week at Camp Half-Blood. Even though the camp was preparing for war, it was still a summer camp and there was still plenty of fun to be had. This was especially so for Ophis, who outside of seeing the campers set up some defenses, didn't know what was going on.

For her, what mattered was that she had made loads of new friends: there was all of Cabin Ten, who unanimously found her adorable and loved playing dress up with her; the very nice Miranda from Cabin Four; and this caring boy, Will Solace, from Apollo's Cabin.

She'd also had tons of fun doing all kinds of cool stuff: learning how to play volleyball, learning all about Greek Mythology, pegasus riding, the campfire singalong, and even archery. Chiron — the meanie — didn't let her do any weapons training, or climb the Climbing Wall, much less take part in Capture the Flag. He said it was too dangerous. And Fidi even agreed with him — that traitor! — But he made up for it by letting her ride around on his horse's back every so often. The look that the campers got when they first saw her sitting on his back were priceless. Apparently, Chiron never let _anyone_ do that.

But then again Ophis _was_ special and everyone knew it. She wasn't a demigod but she was staying at camp. She stayed up in the BIg House with Chiron and not in Cabin Eleven with the other newcomers. And everywhere she went the nymphs and satyrs, would show her respect, while the monsters just fled in fear at the sight of her. This little fact boggled the mind, especially since no one could explain why. Oh, there were plenty of theories, but no solid answers.

Ophis was having the time of her life and she should have been happy about that, but she wasn't. She couldn't be. Not when Nico wasn't around. Not when she was constantly worried about him.

She would try though because like Fidi kept reminding her, that would be what he wanted.

 **0 line break 0**

It was another relaxing day at Camp Half-Blood for Ophis as she lounged under a tree near the archery range with Fidi coiled protectively around her body as usual, as the duo looked on as the campers got ready for the weekly archery knockout.

"Who do you think will win, Fidi?" Ophis asked her servant excitedly whilst she stroked her scales.

Fidi let out a pleased purr at her mistress' ministrations before she offered her opinion, "one of Apollo's children no doubt. Who though I cannot say."

"I hope Will wins then." Ophis offered in support of her friend.

"I don't think that's going to happen, Ophis." Miranda Gardiner said as she sat down next to the younger girl.

"Why not?" Ophis asked innocently.

"Simple." Silena Beauregard, head counselor of Cabin Ten cut in as she, and a number of her siblings, sat down under the shade of the same tree as Ophis was sheltering under. "Will might be a son of Apollo, but he's more a healer than an archer."

"Really?"

"Yup." Miranda replied, picking up the explanation. "We demigods pick up traits and powers from our divine parents, but there's no guarantee of what we get. Some get a wide range of their parent's power, sometimes very strongly—"

"Like Percy." One of Silena's sisters interrupted, sounding dreamy.

"Right. Like Percy." Miranda carried on as Silena shushed her siblings. "And others like Will get a speciality; where they outshine everyone else."

"That's so complicated." The little girl complained.

Everyone laughed.

"Don't worry, Ophis. You'll get it when you're older." Silena reassured.

Ophis sent her a smile in gratitude.

"Oh look, mistress. They're starting." Fidi informed.

"And so they are." Silena confirmed.

The first group of archers stepped up, and at Chiron's mark, took their shots. Then, after a quick points tally, they rotated out for the next group; followed by the third, and last, group. After which, the six highest scoring archers who were moving into the playoffs were announced.

All throughout the competition, Miranda, Silena, and all of Ophis' friends, were giving commentary on the events; telling her and each other about why that archer did well or poorly and so on and so forth. Ophis didn't get much of it, but still had fun watching the archers compete and talking with her friends.

Her fun was cut short though, when she turned to greet Will as he came up to join them after having failed to make it to the playoffs.

One minute she was waving at Will to come join them, and the next she was trapped in a vision. A terrible, terrible vision.

She found herself in some kind of palace, Mount Othrys, her mind supplied instinctively.

 _Why am I here?_

The answer to that question soon revealed itself as she spotted a dark haired teenage boy run pass her towards a tunnel entrance where two teenage girls, a blond and a redhead, and Nico were waiting for him.

 _Nico! She was having a vision of Nico!_

Worry and excitement warred in her veins. On one hand she was thrilled to be able to see Nico again, even if it's only in one of her visions. But on the other hand, she knew what this meant… She only had visions when important things were about to happen.

 _I just hope whatever is going to happen isn't dangerous._

Her hopes were dashed when she felt an ominous presence behind her, spinning around she saw a blond man stalking in the direction the raven haired boy had gone.

Just looking at the man, Ophis could tell, don't ask her how, that he was possessed by Kronos. Father.

 _What!? My father is Kronos? Isn't he the Titan king? The bad guy?_

Before Ophis could put much thought to this new revelation, her vision froze, and half of the corridor had been turned into shades of white and pale grey, while the other half had become blacks and dark greys with a vertical line of gold energy bisecting the scene.

 _Two options? That's what this means, right? But how to see what happens if I choose one or the other?_

Suddenly the dark half expanded to consume her entire focus. Ophis found herself back where her vision first split, with her father advancing menacingly on Nico and his friends. He was within feet of them when out of nowhere the redhead threw a hairbrush at Kronos' blond face. Caught by surprise he — no, the man he was possessing — yelled in pain, but her father quickly regained control and advanced, now angry, closing in on his prey. But at the last minute, Nico summoned a wall of black stone, giving the four of them time to escape.

 _Oh thank the gods! That was close._

Ophis wasn't given much time to celebrate though as the first vision faded and was replaced with the other.

Again she found herself back where her vision first split, with the Titan King advancing menacingly on Nico and his friends. Just like before he was within feet of them when out of nowhere the redhead throws a hairbrush at her father's face. Caught by surprise he — no, the blond he was possessing — yelled in pain, but her father quickly regained control and this is when things went horribly, horribly wrong. Instead of continuing to chase them down, in this version of the future, her father was so enraged by what happened that he instead shoots a blast of raw power towards Nico and his friends. Her brother still manages to raise his wall of dark stone, but it isn't enough. The blast tears through the barrier and hits Nico dead on, killing him.

 _No! No! NO!_ _ **NO!**_ _Nico can't die! I won't let him._

Ophis channeled every little bit of her power she could muster to try to make sure the first vision comes true. But for the first time, her manipulation of fate was faced with resistance.

 _ **It will not be so easy this time, little one.**_ A terrifying voice echoed in her mind in response to her efforts. Her father's!

"NO! NO! I don't care! Nico will **NOT** die!" Ophis screamed at the top of her lungs as, now free from her vision, she abruptly stood.

All her friends shot her alarmed looks and began to ask her what was going on, but she had no time for that. She had to save Nico.

Even as Fidi rushed to coil herself around her mistress, Ophis swept her hand vertically in the air in front of her.

In response, time and space tore asunder and a portal edged in black and white energy abruptly sprung into being.

By this point, everyone in the archery range were staring at what was going on and were left awestruck at Ophis' display.

Not that the half-Titan cared, without sparing anyone a second glance she jumped into the portal which snapped closed behind her.

In her wake, she left a stupefied camp of demigods.

 **0 line break 0**

Annabeth and her friends were all just getting over their shock of Kronos, the mighty Titan King — _in Luke's body!_ — recoiling from being hit in the head by a mere hairbrush, when they received another painful jolt to their sense of reality.

Just as the Titan recovered from the blow to the head, a portal snapped into being between them and Lu-Kronos. From it stepped out Ophis, the strange little girl who Nico had unceremoniously dropped off at camp "for her own safety", while he was off doing gods knows what in the Labyrinth. On her shoulders was draped a large boa constrictor, with mixed black and white scales, her servant Fidi Douli.

"Ophis?" Nico shouted, sounding shocked and pained.

He wasn't the only one startled by her sudden appearance. They all were. Well, all of them except Lu-Kronos.

"Welcome, daughter, to Mount Othrys, your new home." The Titan King greeted.

"Daughter?" The four older children voiced in varying degrees. Nico looked poleaxed, Annabeth and Percy were shocked, while Rachel, who didn't even know Ophis, just looked mildly confused.

 _Ophis is Kronos' daughter? But how? Is she some kind of demi-Titan?_ Annabeth thought to herself as she desperately tried to work out what was going on.

"Father," Ophis nodded deferentially towards Lu-Kronos, though her voice shook, noticeably pleading. "Please let my friends go."

"Ophis, you can't be serious. That's Kronos. He can't be your father." Nico shouted as he moved forward to grab the girl he regarded as his little sister. He was stopped however by a barrier of black and white energy after only taking a few steps towards her. "What? Ophis? Why?"

 _Is she betraying us?_ Annabeth thought uncharitably. _If so, we need to leave._ _ **Now.**_

Ophis ignored him, all her attention on Kronos. "Father?"

Annabeth tried to signal Percy that it was time to go. But he just shook his head. Not surprisingly, he was acting in his typical fashion, refusing to leave anyone behind.

"Percy, what's going on?" The Rachel girl asked, though everyone ignored her.

Lu-Kronos took on a thoughtful look, seemingly considering Ophis' request.

"Very well, daughter, but in return you must willingly stay." Kronos, wearing Luke's face, offered.

" **NO!** " Nico screamed as he banged on Ophis' barrier. "Don't do it, Little Sister!"

"You promise, you'll let Nico and the others go?" Ophis pressed. "On the Styx?"

 _Oh gods! She hasn't betrayed us, she's selling herself to buy our freedom._ Annabeth realized, aghast.

"I swear that if you agree to stay here on Mount Othrys by my side, I will let the mortals go. For now."

A boom echoed through the air, the signal for a Oath on the Styx.

"You have a deal then, Father." Ophis answered resignedly.

"NO! Ophis, you don't have to do this." Nico continued to plead as he drew his sword and desperately tried to hack away at the barrier that was keeping him from his sister.

"Percy Jackson? Please take Nico to safety. Make sure my Big Brother is safe." Ophis asked Percy, even as she kept her back to all of them.

"Percy, grab Nico." Annabeth urged.

"But Ophis—" Percy began, but Rachel interrupted him.

"Percy, we can't waste her sacrifice."

The son of the seas fell silent, staring hard at Riptide, the ancient sword shaking in his grip. "I—"

"Percy! Please!" Ophis begged. That seemed to be enough to spur Percy into action. He grabbed hold of the son of Hades, who was kicking and screaming to be let go, but Percy held firm.

"Let's go." Percy said determinedly, dragging a still struggling Nico with him. Annabeth and Rachel quickly followed.

As they began to leave, Ophis finally turned to face them, and with tears streaming down her face she shouted, "Big Brother! Go! Save camp! Save our friends!"

Kronos used Luke's body to snort derisively at that.

As the quartet _finally_ entered the Labyrinth, they heard Ophis say, "thank you Father, for being so patient."

"It was no matter. After all, with you here now, I have already won." Kronos said, before bursting into a chilling laugh.

 _Olympus! I pray that's not true._ Annabeth hoped as she and the others ran through the Labyrinth to safety.


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson.**

 **The Search for Family**

 **Family**

 **Betas: Engineer4Ever and Siegfried01**

 **0 line break 0**

 **Chapter 3: A Brother's Fury**

A day later found Nico sitting alone in a room in the Big House sulking. He and the others had made it back through the Labyrinth, after making a wasted pitstop to see the dying breath of the long lost god, Pan. The others had their moods lifted by the God of the Wild, but Nico hadn't. How could he?

When they'd reached camp, at last, they found it in the midst of preparing for an invasion. At that moment, the others had rushed to join in, leaving Nico to mope around with nothing to do and his mind filled with despair. Eventually, Chiron had trotted up to him and guided him to the Big House ostensibly to help look after and guard the campers too young to fight that were being evacuated there, but really to just keep him out of the way.

In the state he was in, he was more a hindrance than a help.

Not that the son of Hades cared.

Nico wasn't just brooding in any room though, this was Ophis' room. The room of the little sister that had sacrificed herself to ensure that he and Percy and his friends could get away from Kronos.

Kronos… the King of the Titans… their enemy…

And Ophis' father. Apparently.

"Nico, you in here?" Miranda Gardiner, one of Ophis' friends, asked popping her head into the room.

Nico didn't reply. He just looked forlornly at the framed picture in his hands of Ophis, Fidi in her human disguise, and himself that he had found on his sister's bedside table. It had been a photo the three of them had taken with a camera they had found back in their suite and was one Ophis' most treasured possessions.

Sighing, Miranda sat down next to Nico on the bed. "Nico, I can't even begin to imagine what you're feeling right now. But you have to buck up. Ophis wouldn't want to see you like this."

Nico didn't reply, he just rubbed his thumb over his sister's face in the picture.

Miranda didn't seem to expect a reply, simply giving him a one armed hug over his shoulders before stepping out to look after the little kids.

Nico didn't know how long he was just sitting there staring at the photo of happier times. But it must have been quite a while because he was so out of it that he was starting to hear things. Impossible things.

"Nico." Ophis' voice echoed in his ears. But that wasn't possible. She couldn't be here. She was a prisoner of the Titans on Mount Othrys.

"Nico!"

Again, Nico ignored the voice. It was just a hallucination created by his grief-stricken mind.

"Nico! Look up!"

At last Nico looked towards the voice. If this was a hallucination then he wanted it gone, he wanted to grieve in peace.

"What?" Nico hissed, furious. "I've just lost another sister, and been powerless to do anything to stop it. Can't I just have some peace to deal with that? Huh? Brain! Leave me the hell alone!"

The room was silent for a long moment, and Nico was about to turn back to the photo when the shadows and light in the room began to come alive. They writhed as they coalesced into a humanoid shape right in front of him. A shape he knew very well. It was Ophis.

"Now I'm seeing things too?" Nico grumbled. "Great."

The illusion frowned at this, and took a step forward before….

Thwack.

The sound of a slap resounded in the silence of the room.

"Can something that's not real do that?" The image of Ophis said.

"Wha-Ophis?" Nico stammered, his hand cradling his right cheek limply, more out of reflex than anything else. "Is that really you?"

"Of course." Ophis said with a smile.

Nico lunged forward and pulled Ophis into a suffocating hug. The little girl didn't mind though as she returned it heartily.

The two siblings hugged for what seemed an eternity before reluctantly the two stepped back.

Nico used the distance to look his sister over for injuries. There were none. She looked fine, the only difference from normal was that she was now dressed in a fancy white dress of some kind. Similar to those from their suite which she liked but never wore because he told her they were impractical.

"So… You believe it's me just because I said so?" Ophis asked after Nico finished his examination. "Maybe this is a Titan trick."

"Nope." Nico said with a smirk. "Only my Little Sister has such a lousy right hand!"

Ophis pouted at that.

 _It really is her. No one else can pout like that._

"Ophis, how are you doing this? Are you still on Mount Othrys?" The concerned son of Hades rushed out.

"Yes, I'm still in Father's palace. And I don't know how I'm doing this. I just wanted to talk to you and this happened." Ophis explained with a shrug.

"It just happened?" The son of Hades mused with a shake of his head. "You're such a cheater."

"Hey!" Ophis cried indignantly.

"Just teasing, Little Sister." Nico said with a smile.

Ophis just crossed her arms over her chest and huffed.

The moment of levity passed quickly though as the reality of the situation sank in for both siblings.

"Oppy—" Nico began but Ophis cut him off.

"Big Brother, why are you here in my room? Shouldn't you be helping prepare the camp for the invasion?"

"Why should I?" Nico asked defensively. "I've done more than my fair share in the Labyrinth."

"Nico! How can you say that?" Ophis scolded. "Camp needs all the help it can get. And soon. The Titans, they've been saying the attack will be anytime now. They delayed it so Father could recall them and talk to them about me, but now that he's done… They're coming Big Brother, and you _need_ to help camp fight them."

"I don't need to do anything." Nico stubbornly refuted. "Now that you're gone, there's no reason at all for me to help protect this place."

"But my friends are all—" Ophis began but stiffened midway through her sentence.

"Little Sister?" Nico asked worriedly.

"Nico, I have to go! Fidi just heard someone coming. Talk to you later. Remember help our friends." Ophis babbled out in a rush as her projection faded.

For a moment, Nico just sat there in his sister's empty room staring at the spot where her projection had been.

He was brought out of his revelry though when an explosion sounded off in the distance.

 _You need to help the camp fight them._

If that was what his Little Sister wanted him to do, then he'd do it!

With a look of grim determination on his face, Nico charged out the room, past a startled Miranda and the young campers, out off the Big House and towards the battle.

 _Ophis, I won't fail you._

 **0 line break 0**

As the son of Hades neared the battlefield around Zeus' Fist, he could see that the whole area was an absolute mess. The campers' initial defenses, fortifications built by Hephaestus Cabin, had been overrun and fighting had been reduced to brutal hand-to-hand in the trenches.

The campers were being overwhelmed though as there seemed no end to the Titans' forces, both monsters and what looked like traitorous demigods. For a moment, Nico despaired that he was too late, but suddenly the tide turned when Daedalus, his pet hellhound Mrs. O'Leary, and the hundred handed giant Briareus appeared; with their help, the defenders began pushing the invaders back.

But just as the campers reclaimed their starting positions, a terrifying new monster burst forth from the Labyrinth. Kampê, the greatest nightmare of the greatest nightmares, had joined the field. And with her leadership, the Titanic forces began advancing yet again.

"Not on my watch." Nico hissed quietly to himself as he stabbed his Stygian Iron sword into the earth at his feet. As his sword plunged into the earth, a large fissure, twenty feet wide opened up in front of him.

From this opening into the world's depths, poured forth first one, then two, then dozens of Skeletal Warriors, armed with all manner of weapons from across time.

Nico had summoned an undead army of the underworld to war.

An army which surged forward and crashed into the Titanic lines, completely negating their assault. Much to the shock of both invader and defender.

The effort though took its toll on the son of Hades as he fell to one knee clutching his sword, still embedded in the ground, as a clutch, fighting to remain conscious.

 _Have to stay awake… These skeletons… I need to control them… Otherwise… Attack everyone…_

Despite all his effort though, Nico was too drained, his consciousness began to fade.

Just as Nico was about to pass out, possibly for the last time, a surge of power rushed through him. It was a power he'd felt only passing breaths of, but one he was still intimately familiar with. It was _her_ power. His Little Sister, Ophis', power.

Reenergized by Ophis' power, Nico stood.

He was enshrouded in a aura equal parts pitch black and blinding white with a ouroboros hologram hovering over his head as if he was being claimed.

 _And I am, in a way._ Nico mused. _Just as a brother._

The Titanic forces looked terrified at this development, even more so than when the undead had charged them out of nowhere. They quailed before Ophis' symbol as it hovered above her brother like a standard, not fading.

Drawing his sword from the earth, and thus closing the gateway to the underworld, Nico charged the enemy with a ear-splitting battlecry, " **For Ophis!** "

He hit them like a landslide. Empowered by his sister's power he and his undead warriors tore through the Titanic troops with ease.

Kampê took notice though and turned from her battle against Percy and Annabeth to try to rally her troops. Unfortunately for Kronos' jailer, this distraction cost her. Taking the opening for what it was, Briares launched a hundred huge rocks at the abomination, burying her. The monstrous offspring of Tartarus and Gaea was not so easily killed though and began to claw its way out of the rockpile. But as her head emerged, it was met with the swift and sure blade of Percy Jackson who decapitated her.

Seeing their leader killed, the already hard pressed Titanic army's morale crumbled.

"Retreat!" A voice sounded amidst the army of monsters.

A call soon picked up by the whole host as the Titans' troops began an orderly withdrawal, or as orderly as one can when you're utterly overwhelmed.

To add insult to injury, this was when Grover arrived and invoking the power of the faded god of the Wild, Pan, cast his Panic ability on the enemy, sending irresistible, overpowering fear coursing through their minds. All semblance of order broke down then, and the army's retreat became a rout.

The campers disengaged, too tired to pursue even if they were willing to brave the Labyrinth to do so.

Nico however wasn't about to let this opportunity go.

 _If I follow them, I can reach Mount Othrys and rescue Ophis!_

Still empowered by Ophis' power, Nico and his undead troops made to follow the invaders back into the Labyrinth.

Feet away from the Labyrinth entrance and just as the last of the Titans' warriors escaped through it, Nico was tackled to the ground from the side.

"Get off me!" Nico screamed. "I have to follow them and rescue Ophis."

"It's too dangerous!" Percy, his tackler, shouted back. "What are you going to do? Storm Othrys on your own?"

"If I have to!" Nico refuted as he and Percy continued to struggle with each other.

"If you do that then you'll just get yourself killed. That's not what Ophis would want!" The older boy declared as he tried to use his bigger size to pin the son of Hades.

"You don't know anything!" Nico said using the enhanced strength Ophis' power gave him to wrestle his arm free and attempt to punch Percy in the face.

Percy dodged Nico's powerful but clumsy blows as best he was able, getting smacked once or twice. Despite this, he continued to try to reason with the younger boy, "She sacrificed herself to save you from her father Nico! Do you think she'd want that going to waste by you doing something suicidal?"

All this while, Nico's undead army had milled around aimlessly as their summoner fought the son of Poseidon. Ophis' champion however had not forgotten about them, as evidenced when the two Skeletal Warriors nearest the two struggling boys, dressed and armed in the style of British redcoats, suddenly surged forward and pulled Percy off their summoner and restrained him.

"Hey! This isn't fair!" Percy whined.

Nico ignored him and was about to charge ahead as he had intended all along when a new figure stepped into his way.

"I'm afraid I cannot let you do this, Champion of Ophis." Daedalus declared.

"Get out of my way!" Nico hissed.

Daedalus just smiled. "I cannot. I can, however, do one final good deed."

With those words, a celestial bronze dagger shot out of Daedalus' wrist and into his hand.

Nico tensed, _Is he going to fight me?_

Without any hesitation, Daedalus raised the blade… and plunged it into his own heart.

"Wha—?!"

"Percy is right, Nico. Your sister wouldn't want you to do this," Daedalus said, surprisingly clearly for a dying man. "Hopefully my sacrifice can eliminate the temptation for such recklessness."

With those last words, Daedalus collapsed to the ground, dead.

With his death, his Labyrinth, tied to his essence as it was, died with him. A fact dramatically demonstrated by Zeus' Fist collapsing.

" **NO!** " Nico screamed as he ran towards the rubble and began clawing away at the stone. He was so drained by this point that he couldn't call on his geokinesis and instead resorted to physically trying to dig into the ground.

As he did, his aura began to fade away as wisps of its energy broke off and seemingly drifted away on the breeze. At the same time, his undead army maintained as they were by this same power began to fall apart, literally, as the animated skeletons collapsed into heaps of bones and equipment before sinking back into the earth.

The last to fade was Ophis' symbol as it stubbornly hung on, shining defiantly even as all other traces of her power vanished. But in the end, it too disappeared and with it all of Nico's strength.

Suddenly, exhausted to his very bones, Nico toppled over like a puppet with its strings cut. Even then he struggled to dig through the remains of Zeus' Fist.

His last word as he _finally_ lost consciousness were, quite predictably, his Little Sister's name. "Ophis..."


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson.**

 **The Search for Home**

 **Family**

 **Betas: Engineer4Ever and Siegfried01**

 **0 line break 0**

 **Chapter 4: The Extended Family**

Mount Othrys, seat of the Titans, the terrible and beautiful palace that was made of fear and shadow, was on this one day transformed. Its glimmering black marble towers that reached the clouds, which were usually so imposing were now garlanded with cheerful banners. It's interior was likewise wholly out of character, it's floor of polished black marble, burners of Greek Fire and many statues of the Elder Titans were unchanged, but their terrifying awe was muted by the festive streamers that were strung up between the Greek columns.

The grim mausoleum like palace's character had been tempered for one purpose: the celebration of a little girl's birthday.

It was 15 August 2009 and it was Ophis' seventh birthday.

And her Father and his fellow Titans were throwing her an elaborate party.

She was wearing an elaborate frilly dress that she'd wanted for ages since she'd seen it on TV back at St. Mary's; was given tons of presents of all kinds from mundane books and games to exotic magical items and weapons; and was even given a proper birthday cake to eat for once.

Despite all that, she was miserable.

 _I miss Nico. I want to celebrate my birthday with him, not…them._

Them of course referred to the Titans. There were dozens of them here, all milling about in the great Main Hall. All of them had come forward at one point or another to wish her a happy birthday and present her with gifts, but most had quickly drifted away after that to talk with their fellows.

Four remained though. Sitting at a table set up in front of Othrys' Black Throne were the four greatest Titans.

On the right hand of the throne sat Hyperion, Lord of the East and Titan of the Sun, Light and Power. He was a tall, muscular man, with glowing skin, and golden eyes like miniature suns that shone with a harsh light.

 _At least he's not covering himself in flames this time._ Ophis thought to herself. _He's very scary looking when he does that._

Next sat, Krios, Lord of the South and Titan of the Constellations. He, like his brother Hyperion, was a tall, muscular man. He wore black Stygian Iron armor with stars on it, with a helmet shaped like a ram's head and matching horns.

 _Please don't let him start complaining. If I hear him complain about how he's always looked down on one more time..._

Seated across from Krios was Koios, Lord of the North and Titan of Farsight. He was dressed in elaborate black Stygian Iron armor that had a single diamond blazing in the breastplate, with a helm shaped like a bear's head. A light mist seemed to enshroud him, and his eyes were an icy whitish-blue that glowed faintly. His hair and beard were also blue-white, and he wore his hair cut short in a military style.

 _At least Uncle Koios is here. Even if he always looks so cold, he's at least kind to me._

Last but certainly not least her Father, Kronos, King of Othrys and Titan of Time and Agriculture sat in his throne. Unlike his brothers, her Father was not in his true Titanic form. Instead he was wearing the body of a demigod, Luke Castellan, son of Hermes. The body was that of a tall, handsome college-aged young man, with short-cropped sandy blonde hair, gold eyes, and an athletic and muscular build. The only thing that marred the man's good looks was a thick, deep pale scar that ran from the bottom of his left eye down to his chin. With her Father inhabiting his body, the skin had taken on an unnatural glow.

 _This is my Father. My terrible, monstrous Father._ Ophis quailed a little at the very idea.

"I know what you are thinking, daughter." Kronos addressed his young daughter who he had seated to his immediate left.

"Father?" Ophis asked fearfully. _Please don't let that be true. I don't want to be punished again._

The last time Ophis had defied her Father by lending her power to her brother Nico to defend Camp Half-Blood, her Father had given her a truly terrible punishment.

He'd had her loyal servant Fidi skinned alive! And made her watch!

 _I don't want to see anyone suffer like that again!_

Thankfully, Ophis had managed to send some of her power over to Fidi and that had allowed her loyal handmaiden to survive. But even now Fidi was still recovering, a process not helped by her Father's orders not to have anyone tend to her injuries.

 _A reminder, he says, of the consequences of defying him._

"You were thinking of that boy were you not? That son of Hades that you claimed as your brother?"

Ophis nodded, even as she was inwardly terrified that Kronos realizing this meant he would do something to Nico.

"Well, don't fret about him. After we win this war, you can keep the boy around as your pet." The Titan King offered in what he probably thought was a very generous gesture.

His daughter however was horrified by the suggestion. She didn't show it though. In the months she'd been trapped here on Othrys she'd learnt, by necessity, not to let her emotions show. Doing so could be very dangerous.

Not for her. But those around her. Her Father forbade any violence against her, and demanded that everyone, even his fellow Titans, treat her as if she was a princess. But this didn't extend to those around her.

Once early on in her imprisonment, when she'd been feeling especially down she'd thrown a tantrum over not liking some food being served to her by one of the servants, her Father had responded by killing the servant on the spot.

 _I don't want anymore people dying because of me._

Hiding her true emotions, Ophis offered her Father a smile.

"Thank you for your generosity Father." The little girl said in as honest sounding a voice as she could.

From Krios' snort, she suspected she wasn't good enough.

Kronos though didn't seem to mind but instead gave her a satisfied nod.

"Kronos." Hyperion spoke up suddenly. "Not that I seek to question your decisions, but could you enlighten me as to why we are wasting time with this farce?" He gestured to the party. "Do we not have a war to fight?"

Krios nodded to this.

"We are having this party, Hyperion, because Ophis is family." Koios said in his King's defense. "And more importantly, because she is our insurance against Mother should she rise against us. And it behooves us to keep her on our side."

"And what are the chances of Mother turning against us?" Krios dismissed.

"Considering she now has a new favored race of children in the form of the Giants? More likely than we would like." Koios countered.

"You worry too much Koios." Krios rebutted. "You're just being a little too far-sighted I think."

Koios bristled at this and leveled his brother with a chilling glare.

"Enough!" Kronos said firmly before they could dissolve into another argument. "Krios stop needling Koios. Koios ignore our fool brother, he is merely jealous as always."

His brothers immediately stood down. Though Krios looked peeved that his King had called him out on his jealousy.

Seeing this, Kronos leveled a glare at the Lord of the South. An action that the loyal lapdog, Hyperion, immediately emulated.

"Unless you have forgotten, Krios, Koios is correct." Kronos said reprimandingly. "Do I need to remind you again?"

Ophis, who had wisely chosen to keep silent and behave unobtrusively to avoid unwanted attention whilst the brothers bickered, perked up.

"No." Krios whined. "I've heard it a dozen times already. You sired her with the abyss of Chaos to have a pet protogenoi as a secret weapon in case Mother betrays us."

 _My mother is Chaos? I'm a protogenoi?_ A shocked Ophis thought to herself, even as her power informed her that it was true.

"Be more respectful to our king, Krios." Hyperion demanded.

"Over this?" Krios mocked. "I already said how silly I think the idea of Mother becoming our enemy is and don't get me started on the part about the girl's conception. You keep saying it was so~ difficult. But it's just inserting tab A into slot B. Not difficult at all."

"Krios!" Hyperion shouted bursting into flames as he stood from his chair and advanced on his disrespectful brother.

Ophis squeaked in alarm at this. She was not alone, a number of the lesser Titans had responded similarly.

In response to Ophis' terror, Koios stood and moved to stand between her and Hyperion.

Hyperion had just picked a struggling Krios out of his seat when her Father's coldly furious voice spoke up, "Hyperion, release him."

The self-proclaimed Lord of Light obeyed immediately letting his erstwhile brother drop to the floor in an undignified heap. The Titan of the Constellations moved to stand, but froze at his King's cold, "Krios."

"Yes, my King?" Krios asked as he cowered.

Kronos didn't reply. Instead he got up from his Black Throne and stalked towards his brother. When he was before him, he unleashed his aura, flooding the Hall with his immense power.

All the Titans, powerful beings in their own rights, flinched.

Ophis was entirely unaffected by the power. She however flinched as well as she recalled the last time this had happened, when he tortured Fidi.

"You think creating Ophis was a simple matter?" Kronos demanded of his brother.

Krios tried to speak but Kronos preempted his attempt, "Be silent. You obviously need a reminder." Looking up, the King of Mount Othrys eyed the crowd of his subjects. "And the rest of you would do well to listen as well."

The King received nods from all the other Titans, not that he noticed since he had returned his attention to his brother.

"I did not impregnate Chaos through sexual intercourse, Krios, as you so crudely insinuated. If only it had been so simple. For one, Chaos has never taken on a avatar and I myself was cut up into thousands of pieces. It would have been physically impossible for us to have sex." Kronos explained slowly and mockingly.

 _Then how was I born?_ Ophis pondered, as her Father continued his explanation of her origins.

"No, I had to sneak some of my essence into Chaos' abyss without the Olympians or _Mother_ noticing and _then_ shape Ophis into being by mixing it with a portion of Chaos' being. Feats that I remind you are all but impossible for anyone, let alone someone who had his body and essence torn asunder. As if that was not difficult enough I then had to sneak her into the mortal world some place where we could find her but somewhere where the Olympians could not. Do you realize how difficult that was? How much effort it took? And you dare belittle it, brother!?"

"My apologi—" Krios began, only to be cut off.

"I did not say you could speak!" A furious Kronos hissed.

Ophis broke into shivers.

 _I've never seen Father this angry. I'm scared!_

As if sensing her thoughts, Koios reached one of his hands behind his back and gave her arm a comforting squeeze.

"The only easy part about the whole thing was her upbringing." Kronos continued, oblivious to the young primordial's distress. "Thankfully the mortals are as predictable as always. They sensed that my daughter was different and being the natural born bigots they are, treated her badly because of that. In that way, she was shown the dark side of this world the Olympians have built and how our cause to overthrow them is just. Isn't that right, Ophis?"

"Yes, Father." Ophis squeaked, nodding as enthusiastically as she could manage.

 _I'll say yes to anything! Just please stop being so angry._

"Good. Very good." Kronos continued more calmly as he reined in his power and calmly walked back to his throne. "Come Krios, Hyperion, Koios get back to your seats."

Behind him, Hyperion and Krios scrambled to follow his orders.

For a moment, the party stood frozen, still in shock over what had happened but soon the Titans seemed to brush it off and get back to whatever they had been doing before their King's outburst.

Ophis was not so easily put at ease and shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Fortunately, Koios took note of her discomfort and as he retook his seat, settled an arm on hers.

The little girl shot her uncle a grateful smile, which earned her a small smile from the usually stoic Titan.

"Hyperion," Kronos said once all his brothers were seated. "Update me on the disposition of the forces for the invasion of Manhattan tomorrow."

"Of course, my King." The Titan of Power replied with a smile on his face, obviously pleased. "Our troops are massing in the country-"

Ophis tuned the Titans out, going so far as to cover her ears with her hands- an action that earned her a hard look from Hyperion but an amused one from her Father. She didn't care though, she wasn't going to listen to how the Titans were planning to destroy all her friends. She **wasn't**.

 **0 line break 0**

It was hours later that the war council that her unwanted birthday party had become broke up.

 _And thank mother Chaos it did when it did._ Ophis thought to herself later that night as she prepared for bed by changing into her nightgown. _I don't think I could stand staying there any longer than I did, hearing about all the ways they were going to destroy all my friends without going crazy._

Dressed for bed, the little protogenoi walked pass her assigned servants, a pair of empousai in their human disguises, and headed to her bed. A absolutely decadent piece of furniture large enough for four people much less a single seven year old and lined with the finest sheets and surrounded with layers of drapes designed to ensure her privacy at night.

Sliding into the sheets, she took the time to check on a recovering Fidi, hibernating on one of her many pillows.

Satisfied that her friend was well, Ophis nodded to her vampiric attendants who give her a respectful bow before pulling her drapes closed.

Ophis lay down and closed her eyes pretending to sleep for a moment, waiting patiently for the empousai to leave her quarters. A few minutes later she heard the main door close softly — _Thank you, supernatural hearing —_ and sat up in her bed.

Slashing one of her hands through the air, Ophis opened a portal. One which led to her little pocket dimension where she stored stuff.

 _Thank you, Uncle Koios for helping me learn how to do this._

Reaching inside her personal extra-dimensional storage locker, Ophis fished out a softball sized glass orb.

It had been a final, secret gift from her Uncle Koios back at the party.

 **Flashback**

The party was finally dispersing and all the guests were heading home.

Ophis was no exception and after waiting for and receiving a final dismissal from her Father was now being escorted back to her chambers by her Uncle Koios.

The two walked in silence.

Koios was her favorite uncle, really the only one of her Titanic relatives that she actually somewhat liked, and she would have loved to talk his ear off. However, he could sometimes get into a mood where he was very quiet, as seemed to be the case now, and so Ophis respected that and kept quiet too.

As the uncle and niece neared Ophis' chambers, Koios suddenly put a hand on her shoulder.

Stopping, Ophis looked up at her uncle inquisitively.

Without a word, Koios summoned a small glass orb out of thin air and passed it to her.

Ophis looked at the orb with genuine curiosity.

"Uncle, what's this?"

"This, niece, is my true gift to you today." The Titan of Farsightedness explained quietly as he searched the corridor for prying eyes.

"What is it?" Ophis asked just as quietly, having picked up on her uncle's cues.

"Something that your Father will not like me giving you. Keep it hidden and look at it again when you are alone and you'll find out what it really is."

Ophis frowned. _That wasn't helpful at all._

"I trust you, Uncle." Ophis replied, and she did, which was why she followed these words by immediately placing the orb into her storage dimension.

With a nod at her following of his instructions, Koios started walking towards Ophis' quarters once more, his niece following dutifully behind him.

 **Flashback End**

As Ophis gazed into her uncle's present in the privacy of her bed, it suddenly began to glow and began projecting an image on a holographic screen at her eye level.

On the screen, she could see her brother Nico training. From the looks of it, he was in the underworld. All around were warriors… warriors her power helped her recognize… famous and skilled warriors like: Theseus, Odysseus, Achilles, Perseus, Jason, and many more. All the greatest heroes of Ancient Greece in one place, doing one thing: training her brother.

Not that any of that mattered to Ophis. All she cared about was seeing her brother's face for the first time in months. That fact alone brought joyful tears to her eyes.

But it also brought her first genuine smile to her face in ages.


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson.**

 **The Search for Home**

 **Family**

 **Betas: Engineer4Ever and Siegfried01**

 **0 line break 0**

 **Chapter 5: The Battle of Manhattan - Part 1: The Opening Moves**

"Is this not a beautiful sight, Ophis?" Koios crowed delightedly as he gestured at the ranks of Scythian Dracanae and Empousai that advanced in orderly ranks ahead of the two great immortals up the Queens-Midtown Tunnel. "Our army marching into Manhattan, and soon after that, Olympus?"

Ophis said and did nothing. Neither agreeing or disagreeing with her uncle's statement.

If she had been accompanied by any other of her Father's other lieutenants her lack of enthusiasm would have earned her at least a rebuke if not an outright punishment. Thankfully Koios both doted on her and knew well her 'conflicted' feelings about this whole war, even if he disdained them. He was, thus, inclined to be more lax towards her, something she was grateful for.

The Titanic army at Koios' command, only one of several that made up Kronos' vast host, marched unopposed up the Tunnel, past mortals charmed asleep by the minor god Morpheus. He and a good number of the minor gods had defected to join Kronos' ranks, swelling the already impressive number of powerful deities at her Father's command.

Their army were fronted by a pair of young Hyperborean giants, who despite supposedly only being youngsters were already so tall they barely fit in the twelve foot high tunnel. The two young giants were originally supposed to help with carrying their supplies in the rear but were now instead up front helpfully and surprisingly gingerly — almost as if they didn't want to harm the mortals within — moving any of the vehicles that obstructed their way to the side. That these enigmatic giants from the far north that were usually friendly to mortals had chosen to side with her Father was truly distressing. It was a sign of his strength, Olympian weakness and most importantly the negative sentiment the Olympians' behavior over the millennia had garnered. Or at least that's what her uncle had tried to explain to young Ophis. All she understood was that her Father had gained a new set of powerful soldiers and that was bad news for Olympus.

They were midway up the Tunnel when they first encountered resistance.

"My Lord and Lady," a dracanae messenger hailed as she slithered up to where Koios and Ophis were sitting on a palanquin being held up by a quartet of particularly muscular dracanae. "We have engaged the enemy at the mouth of the tunnel."

"Oh?" Koios replied, almost disinterestedly.

"Who is it?" Ophis asked as she jolted up at the news. _Please don't let it be anyone I know._

"It appears to be the demigod spawn of Aphrodite, Great Serpent. Just as our spy said it would be." The messenger informed respectfully.

 _Silena!_ Ophis bemoaned in the safety of her own mind.

"I see. No true opposition then." Koios said dismissively.

The snake woman seemed to hesitate a bit at this, something Koios noticed, "What?"

"My apologies, Lord Koios. But these demigods are putting up more of a fight than we expected. We'll kill them of course, eventually. But they've already killed the two giants with some kind of perfume magic. So, for now…"

"For now?" Koios hissed, as cold mist began wafting from his frame.

"...for now, they have managed to stall our advance." The dracanae finished her report to Koios before sending pleading eyes to Ophis.

Which was not unexpected. Ever since Ophis had 'joined' her Father's forces, the dracanae had all come to revere her. Apparently since her true form was supposedly a serpentine creature of some kind- she herself wasn't sure of this as she hadn't learned how to take on that form yet- as both her Father and Fidi attested, the snake women had all come to see her as their patron divinity.

"Uncle, she is just a messenger. Don't punish her for delivering bad news." Ophis pleaded.

Koios was still coldly furious but nodded anyway.

The messenger hissed in relief at this.

"I defer to your judgement for your subjects, niece." Koios declared, even as a cruel smirk spread across his face. "But in exchange would you be willing to accompany me as I sweep the fools opposing us aside?"

Ophis inwardly recoiled at the request, but she didn't let it show. Koios may treat her kindly but he was still a callous monster and she didn't want to cross a line and have his anger focused on her. And overtly disapproving of the killing of the Titans' enemies in front of their troops would cross a line.

That said, she did feel safe enough with her uncle to send him a covert glance pleading with him to spare her.

Unfortunately, by the way he refused to acknowledge her, he wasn't going to change his mind.

"It would be my pleasure." Ophis forced out.

"Brilliant!" Koios cheered as he stepped off the palanquin and drew his massive sword with its aura of frost.

"Fidi." Ophis called to her faithful servant, who promptly uncoiled from the feet of Ophis' throne where she had been resting all this time and slithered to the ground and proceeded to grow to a massive size, one large enough for her mistress to ride into battle.

Ophis climbed onto her friend's back and turned to her waiting uncle and gave a nod.

"Onwards." The Lord of the North shouted as he, Ophis on Fidi's back and a detachment of dracaena serving as their honor guard advanced to the mouth of the tunnel where the fighting was taking place.

As they passed through the ranks of their army, cheers rang up. The monsters' already high morale buoyed by the sight of their leaders heading to join the battle, confident that once they did that it would be won.

It wasn't long before Ophis' supernatural hearing picked up on the sounds of combat.

The clashing of weapons and shields; and the raised voices of the warriors as they fought and died.

"Die godling!"

"You first snake-face!"

"For Aphrodite!"

"Daddy…" A fading male voice reached Ophis' ears.

The seven year old protogenoi felt bile rise up in her throat at that last snippet she heard. She didn't recognize the voice, but she knew it had to be a camper from Aphrodite's cabin, possibly someone she'd met and had fun with, and now she was hearing him die.

"Silena, we can't hold out much longer!" Another male voice, healthier but tired and sounding desperate, cried.

"I know! Just a little longer…! Where is Percy?!"

Ophis recognized that voice, it was Silena Beauregard, head counselor of Cabin Ten back at Camp Half-Blood and one of her friends.

"Silena, we have to retreat! We can't wait…"

Whatever Silena's brother was saying was drowned out as Ophis and her retinue neared the front and were noticed by the dracanae there, who responded with a ear splitting battle cry of " **For Ophis** " and as one charged the demigods, some even bowling over their empousai allies in their enthusiasm.

"Wha—?" Silena's brother voice said in shock before it was silenced by what sounded like a spear thrust.

"Die for the glory of the Great Serpent!"

"Terry!" Silena cried in a mix of grief and anger.

Silena's cry reverberated throughout the confined space of the tunnel.

"You fiend!" Silena cursed as by the sounds of it she engaged Terry's killer. "You dare kill in Ophis' name!? I _know_ Ophis, she would never want this!"

Ophis' heart swelled at this. Silena had just seen her siblings killed by monsters fighting in her name, but yet her friend was still defending her.

Next to her though, Koios didn't seem to share the sentiment as he snorted derisively.

"Foolish. What does the girl know about you, eh, niece?"

Ophis said nothing, she didn't know what to say to that. Being honest was _not_ an option.

Not that her uncle seemed to expect a response as he continued speaking.

"Though I must give her and her siblings credit, despite our overwhelming numbers they've done well to hold us at bay. But that changes _now_."

With that declaration, the Titan of knowledge leapt into the air. In a move that defied mortal reason, he managed to jump from a resting start so high that he almost hit the roof of the tunnel and land no less than thirty feet from where he started. In so doing allowing him to bring down his sword in a perfect overhead slash that managed to cleave an unfortunate daughter of love clean in two from head to groin. There was however no blood, as the intense cold of Koios' blade froze all it touched leaving the two sides of the body to fall to the ground as frozen chunks.

Ophis winced at the gruesome display but didn't look away. _I'm part of the reason they're fighting. Father is invading, confident of victory, because of_ me _. So, I can't look away. This is my fault, I don't deserve to._

With Koios' entry into the fight, things quickly turned against Cabin Ten as the Titan Lord proceeded to systematically, almost lazily, engage the demigods in ones and twos and after toying with them for a minute or two, kill them.

"Nicole, Lacy, Drew. Retreat!" Silena shouted. Her siblings obeyed, fleeing the battlefield.

 _Yes, get out of here. You can't win this._

"I'll cover you." Cabin Ten's leader added as she stalked forward towards Koios as the Titan stood expectantly over the corpses of three of her siblings. His hand raised to signal his troops to hold and not pursue the three who had escaped.

"You'll play rearguard, little informer?" Koios mocked. "Have you switched sides again?"

"I was never on your side!" Silena hissed lowly.

 _Silena was the spy?_ Ophis thought to herself in disbelief.

Koios just laughed at Silena's statement.

An act which seemed to serve to infuriate the daughter of love who raised her sword threateningly.

Koios just gave her an amused look, "Do you honestly think you are able?"

"Won't know until I try." Silena replied as she dropped into a fighting stance.

Koios burst into laughter. "You are a funny little thing aren't you? Very well, let's gamble shall we?"

Silena just tilted her head to the side signaling her curiosity.

"We fight. And if you manage to wound me once, in any way, I'll let your siblings go. For now."

"You'll swear on the Styx?"

"I so swear."

The roar of supernatural thunder sounded, signifying his Oath.

 _Don't do it, Silena! Uncle will kill you!_ Ophis wanted to scream at her friend.

"Good enough. It's a good day as any to die." Silena declares with grim determination.

"Ah! But I won't kill you little girl. You're one of my niece's old friends, so once I'm done with you I'll gift you to her to keep as a pet. Consider that your reward."

 _Wha—?_ A flabbergasted Ophis floundered mentally, but recovered quickly. _I won't let you do this._

Silena didn't respond, she just charged. She was only a few feet away from Koios at this point and would have been able to cover the distance in only a few strides.

But she had barely made one when she was forced to abort her charge.

For suddenly interposed between them was a giant snake being ridden by Ophis.

"Run Silena," the little girl commanded.

"Ophis? Wha—"

"I said, **RUN**!" Ophis repeated her command, this time with her power behind it.

Compelled by the power of a protogenoi, Silena could not resist and fled.

Behind her, Koios burst into amused laughter.

"That was wholly unnecessary little one," the Titan said as he strode forward to ruffle her hair. "I would not have truly hurt your pet."

Ophis frowned at what he called Silena, but nevertheless replied, "I was worried about _you_ , Uncle. I don't want to see you hurt."

The seven year old startled inwardly at this, as she realized that what she had just said was at least partly true. For all that her uncle was a monster, he loved her and was kind to her, was family to her, and she genuinely did not want him to come to harm.

Koios just broke into laughter once again.

"That's sweet of you, Ophis. But we both know your pet wouldn't have been able to harm me."

Ophis just absentmindedly nodded. She was too preoccupied over her discovery of the true depth of her feelings for him to figure out whether what he said was accurate or not.

"Now then," the Titan of farsight continued as he turned away from his niece to survey the aftermath of the battle and to give his waiting lieutenants their instructions. "As planned, we'll fortify this little foothold of ours for now and await further orders."

Turning to gaze in the direction of the Empire State Building, a satisfied smirk spread across his face.

"Olympus awaits."

 **0 line break 0**

Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon and leader of the demigods of Camp Half-Blood, was still tossing and turning from a troubled night's sleep plagued by visions of Nico, Hades, the Oracle, and Rachel Dare, when Thalia, daughter of Zeus and Lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis, shook him awake.

"Percy," she said. "Come on. It's late afternoon. We've got visitors."

Disoriented from both his unrestful sleep and his uncomfortable bed, Percy sat up.

"Visitors?" The sixteen year old demigod managed somehow to say without slurring.

Thalia nodded grimly. "A couple of Titans want to see you, under a flag of truce. They say they have a message from Kronos."

Percy nodded and was heading out with his cousin when he was stopped.

"Percy, wait!" Silena's voice called out to her leader as she hurried over.

The son of Poseidon and Artemis' Lieutenant turned to Cabin Ten's head counselor.

"Silena?" Percy asked concerned, Silena was noticeably flustered and considering their situation, that could mean anything. "What's the matter?"

"Percy, I need to tell you something. Neither of us were in any shape after yesterday's fighting to talk and I didn't want to tell anyone else," here her eyes cut to Thalia, "but I have to tell you now, before you run into her."

"Run into who?" Thalia asked.

"Ophis." Silena explained. "Ophis is here with the Titan army."

"Ophis?" Thalia gasped. "Kronos' pet protogenoi? The one the gods warned us about?"

Both Percy and Silena leveled glares at Thalia for calling Ophis Kronos' pet. For Silena, that might have been natural, she had been a friend of the little girl during her brief stay at camp. Percy in contrast was feeling defensive for his little aunt because of her sacrifice on Mount Othrys. In his mind, no one willing to do something like that could be his enemy. At least he hoped not.

"She's our friend, Thalia!" Silena said heatedly. "She's being held prisoner. We need to rescue her."

"Some friend she is!" Thalia shot back, "the dracanae are fighting in her name now if you didn't notice. If she was really on our side, don't you think she could have taken her new army and joined us?"

"What part of her being held prisoner do you not understand?" Silena retorted, her hand falling to the hilt of her sword. "She saved my life yesterday! If she wasn't our friend still, would she do that?

"Maybe she—" Thalia began, but was cut off by Percy's firm voice.

"Enough! We don't have the time to waste arguing about this. All we can do is hope Ophis is still on our side and leave it at that. Is that clear?"

Both girls reluctantly nodded.

"Good. Silena head back to whatever you were doing, Thalia and I have visitors to go meet." Percy commanded.

The daughter of Aphrodite nodded again and stalked off, still visibly angry at Thalia if the glare she sent her way was any indication.

To her credit, the Hunter just shrugged it off.

With that dealt with, the two remaining demigods walked outside to meet their guests. As they exited the building, the two demigods could see the white flag from half a mile away. It was as big as a soccer field, carried by a thirty-foot-tall giant with bright blue skin and icy gray hair.

"A Hyperborean," Thalia said, making a face. "The giants of the north. Silena reported yesterday about encountering a pair of young ones at the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, but I'd hoped she had just misidentified them or something. It's a bad sign that they sided with Kronos. They're usually peaceful."

"You've met them?" Percy asked.

"Mmm. There's a big colony in Alberta. You do not want to get into a snowball fight with those guys."

As the giant got closer, Percy could see three human-size envoys with him: a pair of tall men, one in a tuxedo and the other in Stygian Iron armor with a diamond on its breastplate and wearing a bear's head helmet; and _Ophis_.

The group walked leisurely toward the Heckscher Playground. The swings and ball courts were empty. The only sound was the fountain on Umpire Rock.

Percy looked at Grover his best friend, a satyr, who was standing nearby. "The tall dudes are the Titans?"

He nodded nervously. "Yeah. I don't like the look of the guy in the tux. He looks like a magician. I hate magicians. They usually have rabbits."

The son of Poseidon just stared at him. "You're scared of bunnies?"

"Blah-hah-hah! They're big bullies. Always stealing celery from defenseless satyrs!"

Thalia coughed.

"What?" Grover demanded.

"We'll have to work on your bunny phobia later," Percy said. "Here they come."

The man in the tux stepped forward. He was taller than an average human—about seven feet. His black hair was tied in a ponytail. Dark round glasses covered his eyes, but what really caught Percy's attention was the skin on his face. It was covered in scratches, like he'd been attacked by a small animal—a really, really mad hamster, maybe.

"Percy Jackson," he said in a silky voice. "It's a great honor."

The other titan, who was enshrouded by a thin layer of chilling mist that made Percy think of Mister Freeze, just snorted at that.

"Lord Koios, Lady Ophis," the titan in a tux said with a respectful bow to his companions. "Please take a seat and leave the rest to me."

The Koios guy gave a absentminded nod, as if that's what he'd have done no matter what the smartly dressed titan said. In contrast, Ophis hesitated, sending a hopeful and longing look towards them before the the mist enshrouded titan put a hand on her shoulder and steered her away to sit on a nearby park bench.

Percy tired to move closer to Ophis, but the scarred titan just slid into his way and shook a raised finger disapprovingly at him.

"Now, now, Percy, trying to recruit our secret weapon? Bad form."

"Ophis isn't a weapon!" Percy hissed back at him.

"Of course she is, we all are. You, me, Zeus, Lord Kronos? In war, all of us are weapons." the titan replied like he was trying to explain things to a small ignorant child.

"We shouldn't be." Percy shot back angrily. He didn't, couldn't, believe that.

"Ah! What should be and what is, are often very different things."

With that titan turned to make sure that Ophis and Koios had taken their seats before turning back to Percy.

"To business." He continued as he extended his hand. "I am Prometheus."

The son of Poseidon was too surprised to shake. "The fire-stealer guy? The chained-to-the-rock-with-the-vultures guy?"

Prometheus winced. He touched the scratches on his face. "Please, don't mention the vultures. But yes, I stole fire from the gods and gave it to your ancestors. In return, the ever merciful Zeus had me chained to a rock and tortured for all eternity."

"But—"

"How did I get free? Hercules did that, eons ago. So you see, I have a soft spot for heroes. Some of you can be quite civilized."

"Unlike the company you keep," Percy commented, gesturing to the milling ranks of the Titans' monstrous army off in the distance.

"Oh, monsters aren't so bad," he countered, a small smirk on his face. "You just have to keep them well fed. Now, Percy Jackson, let us parley."

He waved the demigod toward a picnic table and they sat down. Thalia and Grover stood behind their leader.

The blue giant propped his white flag against a tree and began absently playing on the playground. He stepped on the monkey bars and crushed them, but he didn't seem angry. He just frowned and said, "Uh-oh." Then he stepped in the fountain and broke the concrete bowl in half. "Uh-oh." The water froze where his foot touched it. A bunch of stuffed animals hung from his belt—the huge kind given out as grand prizes at an arcade. He reminded Percy of his cyclops brother, Tyson, and the idea of fighting him made him sad.

Prometheus sat forward and laced his fingers. He looked earnest, kindly, and wise. "Percy, your position is weak. You know you can't stop another assault."

"We'll see."

Prometheus looked pained, like he really cared what happened to the defenders. "Percy, I'm the Titan of forethought. I know what's going to happen."

"Also the Titan of crafty counsel," Grover put in. "Emphasis on crafty."

Prometheus shrugged. "True enough, satyr. But I supported the gods in the last war. I told Kronos: 'You don't have the strength. You'll lose.' And I was right. So you see, I know how to pick the winning side. This time, I'm backing Kronos."

"Because Zeus chained you to a rock," Percy guessed.

"Partly, yes. I won't deny I want revenge. But that's not the only reason I'm supporting Kronos. It's the wisest choice. I'm here because I thought you might listen to reason. After all, we do have an unbeatable trump card." The Titan said smugly while gesturing toward Ophis.

Percy almost lost his cool at that and his hand reached into his pocket to draw Riptide. Thankfully for the negotiations, both Thalia and Grover managed to restrain him.

Completely unruffled by Percy's reaction, the Titan drew a map on the table with his finger. Wherever he touched, golden lines appeared, glowing on the concrete. "This is Manhattan. We have armies here, here, here, and here. We know your numbers. We outnumber you twenty to one."

"Your spy has been keeping you posted," Percy concluded angrily, still fuming from Prometheus' repeated references to Nico's little sister as nothing more than a weapon.

Prometheus smiled apologetically. "At any rate, our forces are growing daily. Tonight, Kronos will attack. You will be overwhelmed. You've fought bravely, but there's just no way you can hold all of Manhattan. You'll be forced to retreat to the Empire State Building. There you'll be destroyed. I have seen this. It will happen."

Percy thought about the picture Rachel had drawn in my dreams—an army at the base of the Empire State Building. He remembered the words of the young girl Oracle in my dream: I foresee the future. I cannot change it. Prometheus spoke with such certainty it was hard not to believe him.

"I won't let it happen," Percy said defiantly.

Prometheus brushed a speck off his tux lapel. "Understand, Percy. You are refighting the Trojan War here. Patterns repeat themselves in history. They reappear just as monsters do. A great siege. Two armies. The only difference is, this time you are defending. You are Troy. And you know what happened to the Trojans, don't you?"

"So you're going to cram a wooden horse into the elevator at the Empire State Building?" Percy snarked. "Good luck."

Prometheus smiled. "Troy was completely destroyed, Percy. You don't want that to happen here. Stand down, and New York will be spared. Your forces will be granted amnesty. I will personally assure your safety. Let Kronos take Olympus. Who cares? Typhon will destroy the gods anyway."

"Right," Percy replied disbelievingly. "And I'm supposed to believe Kronos would spare the city."

"All he wants is Olympus," Prometheus promised. "The might of the gods is tied to their seats of power. You saw what happened to Poseidon once his undersea palace was attacked."

Percy winced, remembering how old and decrepit his father looked as a result of that.

"Yes," Prometheus said sadly. "I know that was hard for you. When Kronos destroys Olympus, the gods will fade. They will become so weak that they will be easily defeated. Kronos would rather do this while Typhon has the Olympians distracted in the west. Much easier. Fewer lives lost. But make no mistake, the best you can do is slow us down. The day after tomorrow, Typhon arrives in New York, and you will have no chance at all. The gods and Mount Olympus will still be destroyed, but it will be much messier. Much, much worse for you and your city. Either way, the Titans will rule."

Thalia pounded her fist on the table. "I serve Artemis. The Hunters will fight to our last breath. Percy, you're not seriously going to listen to this slimeball, are you?"

The son of Poseidon thought Prometheus was going to blast her for her insult, but instead he just smiled. "Your courage does you credit, Thalia Grace."

Thalia stiffened. "That's my mother's surname. I don't use it."

"As you wish," Prometheus said casually, but it was obvious that he'd gotten under her skin. Thalia _never_ used her last name before. Having it thrown into her face like this by the enemy had rattled her a great deal.

"At any rate," the Titan continued silkily, "you need not be my enemy. I have always been a helper of mankind."

"That's a load of Minotaur dung," Thalia said. "When mankind first sacrificed to the gods, you tricked them into giving you the best portion. You gave us fire to annoy the gods, not because you cared about us."

Prometheus shook his head. "You don't understand. I helped shape your nature."

A wiggling lump of clay appeared in his hands. He fashioned it into a little doll with legs and arms. The lump man didn't have any eyes, but it groped around the table, stumbling over Prometheus's fingers. "I have been whispering in man's ear since the beginning of your existence. I represent your curiosity, your sense of exploration, your inventiveness. Help me save you, Percy. Do this, and I will give mankind a new gift—a new revelation that will move you as far forward as fire did. You can't make that kind of advance under the gods. They would never allow it. But this could be a new golden age for you. Or . . ." He made a fist and smashed the clay man into a pancake.

The blue giant rumbled, "Uh-oh." Over at the park bench, Ophis winced even as the other Titan smirked viciously.

"Percy, you know the Titans and their offspring are not all bad," Prometheus said. "You've met Ophis of course," he gestured to the daughter of Kronos, "and Calypso."

Percy blushed tomato red. "That's different."

"How? Little Ophis, for all her power, is nothing but innocent. Pure as freshly fallen snow. As for Calypso? Much like me, she did nothing wrong, and yet she was exiled forever simply because she was Atlas' daughter. We are not your enemies. Don't let the worst happen," he pleaded. "We offer you peace."

"And what about your followers? Those you convinced to join with the promise of revenge?" Percy countered. "You think they'll like this deal you're offering? Huh?"

Percy didn't look to Prometheus for his probably untrue but convincingly worded reply, instead he looked to Ophis. Her reaction would tell him more than anything the wily Titan ever would.

Ophis flinched.

 _Yeah, just like I thought._ Percy mused. _No way the Titans' people are gonna be happy about this. And between the surrendered and your own men… I know who I'd satisfy._

Prometheus noticed his wandering eye, but made no mention of it and replied as if nothing was amiss. "They will have to be satisfied with sacking Olympus and the end of the gods. We made many promises after all, Percy, we can't possibly keep them all."

"Like you kept your promise to Luke?" Percy accused. "I don't think he signed up to being Kronos' meat puppet."

Just the mere mention, no thought, of Luke brought up a burst of intense anger in Percy for the gods. Luke was only in the situation he was in because the gods had dealt him a bad hand.

Ophis he noted flinched almost as if she could literally feel his anger. Which considering what she was, she might. Percy did his best to rein in his anger, for her sake.

Prometheus meanwhile studied the young man seated across from him as if trying to understand his anger. After a moment, he nodded like he'd just picked a thought from Percy's brain.

"It bothers you what happened to Luke," he decided. "Hestia didn't show you the full story. Perhaps if you understood . . ."

The Titan reached out.

Thalia cried a warning, but before Percy could react, Prometheus's index finger touched the teenager's forehead.

Percy suddenly found himself in a vision where he saw Luke and his father Hermes arguing and where the god let slip that he knew all along what Luke's fate would be.

The image faded.

And Percy came to only to see Prometheus sprawled on the ground a few feet from where he had been sitting and with his chest smoking and a massive serpent with alternating black and white scales and Ophis riding on its back looming intimidatingly over his prone form.

She was glaring down at the Titan, a aura of black and white energy enshrouding her.

" **Stay out of my friends' minds!** " The little girl shouted, power dripping from every word.

Prometheus shot a look to his fellow Titan, who ignored him and instead looked at Ophis with amusement and…approval?

"Percy?" The son of Poseidon became aware of Thalia asking. "What...what was that?"

"Prometheus entered his mind and gave him a vision. To show him how the gods know what's going to happen but don't do anything even when their kids are involved." Ophis explained in a more normal voice, though she was still leveling a power-filled glare at Prometheus.

Seeing Prometheus too busy cowering before a seven year old — though Percy had to admit she could be a _very_ scary seven year old — Koios picked up the negotiations. "How long did it take the gods to tell you your prophecy, seaspawn? Even when your precious father knew all along what would happen to you?"

Percy was too stunned to answer. Though whether that was because of the things the Titans were implying or because he'd just seen proof that Nico's adorable little sister was a badass that could casually knock around Titans, he wasn't sure.

"Perrrcy," Grover warned, "they're playing with your mind. Trying to make you angry."

Koios looked ready to say something, but Ophis, surprisingly, spoke first.

"Percy..." She began then hesitated and shot a look to Koios who gave her a warning look, before continuing, "make your choice."

 _Was she going to say something to encourage us to keep fighting?_

Percy clenched his fists. As much as he hated what Prometheus had shown him, he hated Kronos a lot more. The scene that had just played out just stoked that hatred a big deal. Silena was right, Kronos was keeping Ophis his prisoner. She may be allowed to run around like she wasn't, but by the way she was taking cues from Koios, her father was still keeping her on a leash somehow. _Her father!_

For that alone, Percy would fight Kronos to the bitter end. Sure, the gods manipulated their kids all the time, but at least they weren't as bad as Kronos. Most of the time anyway.

"How about I give you Titans a deal instead." Percy countered. "Tell Kronos to call off his attack, leave Luke Castellan's body, and return to the pits of Tartarus. Then maybe I won't have to destroy him."

Koios laughed at his audacity. Ophis shook her head in amusement, in the process letting up her glare on Prometheus thus allowing the Titan to get back to his feet and regain his seat.

"If you change your mind," he said with a sigh, "I have a gift for you."

A Greek vase appeared on the table. It was about three feet high and a foot wide, glazed with black-and-white geometric designs. The ceramic lid was fastened with a leather harness.

Grover whimpered when he saw it.

Thalia gasped. "That's not—"

"Yes," Prometheus said. "You recognize it."

Looking at the jar, Percy felt a strange sense of fear, but had no idea why.

"This belonged to my sister-in-law," Prometheus explained. "Pandora."

"As in Pandora's box?" The leader of Camp Half-Blood asked with a lump in his throat.

Prometheus shook his head. "I don't know how this box business got started. It was never a box. It was a pithos, a storage jar. I suppose Pandora's pithos just doesn't have the same ring to it, but never mind that. Yes, she did open this jar, which contained most of the demons that now haunt mankind—fear, death, hunger, sickness."

Ophis had not reacted much to the jar until then, but once she heard what the jar had done, she sent it a withering glare.

"What I…" Prometheus stuttered, obviously unnerved being subjected to the protogenoi's displeasure again even if it was only peripherally, though to his credit he quickly composed himself. "Err...find curious about the story—Pandora always gets the blame. She is punished for being curious. The gods would have you believe that this is the lesson: mankind should not explore. They should not ask questions. They should do what they are told. In truth, Percy, this jar was a trap designed by Zeus and the other gods. It was revenge on me and my entire family—my poor simple brother Epimetheus and his wife Pandora. The gods knew she would open the jar. They were willing to punish the entire race of humanity along with us."

Percy thought back to all the instances that the gods had behaved exactly like the Titan said.

Maybe Prometheus was toying with his mind.

 _But what if he's right?_ Part of the demigod's mind wondered. _How are the gods any better than the Titans?_

Prometheus tapped the lid of Pandora's jar. "Only one spirit remained inside when Pandora opened it."

"Hope," Percy said.

Prometheus looked pleased. "Very good, Percy. Elpis, the Spirit of Hope, would not abandon humanity. Hope does not leave without being given permission. She can only be released by a child of man."

The Titan slid the jar across the table.

"I give you this as a reminder of what the gods are like," he said. "Keep Elpis, if you wish. But if you decide that you have seen enough destruction, enough futile suffering, then open the jar. Let Elpis go. Give up Hope, and I will know that you are surrendering. I promise Kronos will be lenient. He will spare the survivors."

Again, Percy chanced a look at Ophis. She looked uneasy. _So he's probably lying, no surprise._

"I don't want the thing," Percy growled to the Titan as he pushed the jar back towards him.

"Too late," Prometheus dismissed as he stood. "The gift is given. It cannot be taken back."

As Prometheus obviously made to leave, Koios turned and plucked Ophis off her snake and placed her on his shoulders. The protogenoi didn't struggle or protest, hell she even smiled at the move. She just gestured to the snake which shrank down to a more reasonable but still massive size, like that of a large boa constrictor, and it coiled around her.

 _Thanks for the mixed signals, Ophis. Are you our friend or happy with the Titans._ Percy groused, even though he knew it was probably a little of both.

"Morrain!" Prometheus called to the blue giant. "We are leaving. Get your flag."

"Uh-oh," the giant replied affirmatively.

"We will see you soon, Percy Jackson," Prometheus promised. "One way or another."

"Very true. Choose wisely." Koios sneered, giving the clear impression he would prefer a fight where he could kill the lot of them.

Ophis just looked quickly between the Titan's whose shoulders she was happily riding and her friends from Camp Half-Blood looking mightily conflicted.

Then the truce party turned and strolled up the lane through Central Park, like it was just a regular sunny Sunday afternoon.


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson.**

 **The Search for Home**

 **Family**

 **Betas: Engineer4Ever and Siegfried01**

 **0 line break 0**

 **Chapter 6: The Battle of Manhattan - Part 2: The City Falls**

Nico Shadow Traveled into the lobby of the Empire State Building to see that it had been transformed into a cross between a field hospital and a command centre. The whole place was a scene of chaos though, no surprise there, from the sounds coming from outside and the deaths he could feel, there was a battle raging outside. But he didn't pay any attention to that, he had a person to find.

It look Nico a minute but he eventually spotted the boy he was looking for. Will Solace, son of Apollo and master healer, was running from injured camper or Hunter of Artemis to another applying whatever healing he could bring to bear, trying to save lives.

Nico honestly didn't care. There was only one life that mattered to him right now and the boy had the information he needed to save it.

Stalking up to the boy as he tended to an unconscious camper, a girl that Nico vaguely remembered being a daughter of Demeter, with a grievous wound to the side, Nico was about to pull the healer to face him when the boy spoke up.

"Nico, good, you're finally here."

The son of Hades didn't bother wondering how the other demigod knew he was even there, instead he asked the question he'd come all this way to ask.

"Where's Ophis?"

"I have no idea." Will said as he poured nectar over the injured girl's wound, "All we know is that she's here. With the Titans."

"As a prisoner?"

"Something like that. At least Percy thinks so. Looks likes she's allowed to go wherever she likes though, just with an escort."

"Who?"

"Koios."

Nico sucked in a breath at that. Koios was one of the greatest Titans, rescuing Ophis from him wouldn't be easy.

"It doesn't matter." Nico said as he turned away.

"Where are you going?" The son of Apollo said as he turned to the retreating boy.

"Out into the battlefield, to find Ophis and rescue her."

Will looked worried for a moment — for him? Why? — but nodded.

"Be careful. Don't pick a fight that you can't win. If you need help just ask. Ophis is our friend too." Will said gesturing to the girl he was treating, who he finally realized was Miranda Gardiner, another of Ophis' friends.

Nico just nodded and leapt into the nearest shadow and from there into the chaos of the Battle of Manhattan.

 **0 line break 0**

Nico joined the battle just as the campers' lines began to buckle and their steady but organized retreat towards the doors of the Empire State Building was crumbling into a rout. He cut into the ranks of the advancing monstrous hordes with a fury.

But it wasn't enough.

He couldn't summon the game changing army of undead like he did during the Battle of Zeus' Fist. He had tried repeating the feat in training, but without Ophis' power he could barely summon a dozen weak skeletons and even that left him exhausted.

He had tried calling on Ophis' power again of course, but it hadn't worked. He could still feel the power inside him, like a coiled snake waiting — which, based on what he'd heard about his sister's true form, was fitting. But no matter how much he prodded it, it didn't activate. All he got when he tried was a feeling of fear, no terror, coming from the power.

It didn't take a genius to figure things out. After what happened the last time she lent him her power, Ophis was punished somehow by Kronos and was now too scared to do the same thing again. Nico didn't know what he did, but he was determined to get him back for scaring her so badly.

Without Ophis' power however, Nico couldn't advance through the thick ranks of the Titans' army. He tired Shadow Traveling behind their lines but he could barely move a few feet before being booted out into the real world by some force or other, usually in front of a monster happy to have a go at killing him.

This fact rankled because he could see Ophis for the first time in a year and he couldn't get to her. Behind the enemy troops, a few blocks to the east, a dozen Laistrygonian giants bore torches that led the way for a golden chariot that was flanked by two Hyperboreans carrying Kronos' black-and-purple banners. The King of the Titans was riding toward the Empire State Building with Ophis and her chaperone Koios.

Distantly, Nico heard Annabeth shout that, "We have to fall back to the doorway. Hold it at all costs!"

Not that that mattered to Nico, he wasn't here to defend Olympus. He rushed forward for the umpteenth time that day in an attempt to break through to Ophis when suddenly Thalia was there, grabbing the back of his shirt.

"Where do you think you're going?" She demanded as she viciously carved an attacking empousa into chunks with her knives.

"To rescue my sister, where else?" Nico retorted as he disemboweled a Laistrygonian with his sword.

"You mean getting yourself killed?" Thalia snapped as she blasted a pack of attacking hellhounds into dust with a static burst.

"I won't die, not until I rescue her." Nico declared firmly while launching a barrage of shadows shaped into spears at a group of dracaenae that were trying to encircle them. "Besides even if I did, it's none of your business."

"You're one of us, that makes it my business." Thalia refuted as she used her Aegis to panic a group of empousai, leaving them open for Nico to finish off by impaling them with shaped shadows.

"I've already done my part damnit! I've said all I can to convince my Father to fight with us and I helped Percy get his Curse of Achilles. What more do you want me to do?" The son of Hades screamed in frustration as he was forced back by the monsters into the shrinking defensive circle around the Empire State Building. "Just let me go do what I came here to do already!"

Before Thalia could reply, a hunting horn sounded in the distance.

It cut through the noise of the battle like a fire alarm. A chorus of horns answered from all around the city, echoing off the buildings of Manhattan.

From down the line, Percy glanced at Thalia, but she just frowned.

"Not the Hunters," she assured him. "We're all here."

"Then who?"

The horns got louder. Nico tried to pinpoint where they were coming from but it sounded like a whole army was coming.

It definitely wasn't more enemies since Kronos' forces looked as confused as the campers were. Giants lowered their clubs. Dracaenae hissed. Even Kronos' honor guard looked uneasy.

Then, to the defenders' left, a hundred monsters cried out at once. Kronos's entire northern flank surged forward.

Nico braced himself for a fresh attack, but it didn't come. Instead, the monsters ran straight past the Olympian forces and crashed into their southern allies.

A new blast of horns shattered the night. The air shimmered and in a blur of movement, an entire cavalry appeared as if dropping out of light speed.

"Yeah, baby!" a voice wailed. "PARTY!"

A shower of arrows slammed into the enemy, vaporizing hundreds of demons. But these weren't regular arrows. They made whizzy sounds as they flew, like WHEEEEEE! Some had pinwheels attached to them. Others had boxing gloves rather than points.

"Centaurs!" Annabeth yelled.

The Party Pony army exploded into the battlefield in a riot of colors: tie-dyed shirts, rainbow Afro wigs, oversized sunglasses, and war-painted faces. Some had slogans scrawled across their flanks like HORSEZ PWN or KRONOS SUX.

Hundreds of them filled the entire block. A whole army of crazy and wild centaurs had turned the tide and sent the Titans' army into retreat.

"Percy!" Chiron shouted across the sea of wild centaurs. He was dressed in armor from the waist up, his bow in his hand, and he was grinning in satisfaction. "Sorry we're late!"

"DUDE!" Another centaur yelled. "Talk later. WASTE MONSTERS NOW!"

With that the centaurs tore into the Titanic forces.

The entire Titan army turned and fled, pushed back by a flood of paintballs, arrows, swords, and NERF baseball bats. The centaurs trampled everything in their path.

"Stop running, you fools!" Kronos yelled. "Stand and..."

Nico felt his heart stop at the sight before him. In the rout of the monsters, a panicked Hyperborean giant stumbled backward and was about to sit on Kronos' golden chariot. The chariot with Ophis in it!

But Nico needn't have worried because moments before the giant could finish its fall and squash the chariot. A deafening squeal of surprise and fear echoed across Manhattan and a blast of black and white energy engulfed the giant and disintegrated it.

Ophis had saved herself.

Her display of power had a noticeable effect on the battlefield though.

It had cowed the Party Ponies and reinvigorated the Titans' Army, reminding them that they were being backed by a powerful protogenoi and was certain of victory. Quickly reorganizing themselves, the Titans' forces quickly began to once again force the Olympian defenders back. Even with the Party Ponies, the Titans had a massive numerical advantage and they were using it to their advantage with great effect.

For hours more they fought, until eventually the two exhausted hosts settled into a stalemate. The scant hundred plus defenders of Olympus, mainly centaurs, reduced to their positions within a block of the Empire State Building facing off against the thousands of monsters of Kronos' army camped just outside of the range of the Party Ponies' arrows.

At one of the forward positions of the invading force, Kronos came forward to taunt the defenders with his retinue, including Ophis, in tow.

"Greetings, Percy," the Lord of Time said in a mockingly pleasant voice to Jackson. "Enjoying my visit to your fair city?"

Percy just growled and the two descended into an exchange of insults.

Nico ignored them, he only had eyes for Ophis who alongside the Titan Koios flanked the Titan king.

If he was reading her right, and he was sure he was, Ophis was likewise mesmerized by seeing her brother again and just stared at him, her eyes shuffling through a range of emotions: happiness at seeing him, fear at him being here and how that meant he could die in the fighting, anger that he was doing something so reckless, and hope that she could be with him again.

At some unknown signal, the two siblings both took a step forward toward each other.

They were both restrained though. Ophis by a hand on her shoulder by Koios.

And Nico rather violently by Will and Thalia.

"Let go of me!" Nico screamed as he struggled against them.

"No. Now isn't the time, Nico." Will hissed. "If you go over now you'll just be taken prisoner."

"Of course he will." Kronos agreed, sounding amused. "And, after some training, handed over to my daughter as a pet. Not that it will matter by tomorrow once my troops have rested and are ready to fight again."

Ophis flinched at the mention of training.

Nico didn't quit struggling until his little sister spoke in a fearful voice, "Nico! Please! I don't want to see you tortured!" Then in a much smaller voice, she added, "I've seen enough of that already."

The son of Hades' blood boiled at that admission. The Titans had forced his little sister to see people being tortured, they'd deliberated mentally scarred her.

He just struggled harder. Especially when Kronos turned to her and replied casually. "Now, now, dear. It's good practise for when you have to do the torturing."

"Knock him out!" Percy cried.

"Right!" Will declared as he pulled a syringe out of somewhere and jabbed it into Nico's side.

The boy struggled against whatever the son of Apollo had injected him with for a moment but eventually passed out with a betrayed look on his face.

 **0 line break 0**

Percy dreamed the second night of the battle about how Hades was pondering over what Nico was doing for Ophis and the things one did for family; and the main body of Kronos' army camped at the United Nations preparing to advance once more. So very unpleasant dreams.

He'd hoped at least he'd wake up to something better, but these hopes were dashed when the first thing he heard as he got up was the sounds of agonized screams. Rushing out, he joined the other defenders who had been catching some sleep and who had also been shocked awake by the noise as they went to see what in Olympus' name was going on.

What they found was a scene straight out of some horror movie. Party Ponies everywhere his eyes could see were suddenly dropping dead and disintegrating into gold dust. And they were the lucky ones. The others were writhing in tormented pain as their bodies seemed to literally tear themselves apart: limbs twisting into unnatural shapes; bones abruptly changing position and poking and in some cases even exploding out of their bodies; and all manner of grotesque afflictions.

Several of the campers retched at the sight.

Percy felt like joining them but held it in. Now was not the time for that.

"Chiron?" He asked turning to his mentor.

"Hecate," the ancient centaur, thankfully unaffected by whatever was affecting his kin, angrily replied. "She must be using some kind of curse targeting centaurs."

"But then…" Annabeth asked from Chiron's side.

"But I am not _only_ a centaur and so am spared." Chiron explained bitterly as he leaned down to grasp the hand of a dying centaur before him and told him. "I'll avenge you brother."

Despite the intense pain that must have been caused by his bleeding sores and twisted horse limbs, the centaur managed a smile and a nod before disintegrating.

Just then, a horrible angry roar sounded off in the distance, from the direction of the UN.

Grover stood next to Percy, looking nervous. "What was that?"

"They're coming," The son of Poseidon told him. "And we're in trouble."

The Hephaestus cabin was out of Greek fire. The Apollo cabin and the Hunters were scrounging for arrows. Most of the campers had already ingested so much ambrosia and nectar they didn't dare take any more.

The defenders only had sixteen campers, fifteen Hunters, and half a dozen satyrs left in fighting shape. The rest had taken refuge on Olympus. The Party Ponies had been wiped out by Hecate's curse.

"A drakon," Rachel said as she walked up. "A Lydian drakon, to be exact. The oldest and most dangerous kind."

Percy stared at her in shock. "How did you know that?"

"I'm not sure," Rachel admitted. "But this drakon has a particular fate. It will be killed by a child of Ares."

Annabeth crossed her arms. "How can you possibly know that?"

"I just saw it. I can't explain."

"Well, let's hope you're wrong," Percy said. "Because we're a little short on children of Ares. . . ." A horrible thought occurred to Percy then, and he cursed in Ancient Greek.

"What?" Annabeth asked.

"The spy," The son of Poseidon told her. "Kronos said in my dream earlier, 'We know they cannot beat this drakon.' The spy has been keeping him updated. Kronos knows the Ares cabin isn't with us. He intentionally picked a monster we can't kill."

Thalia scowled. "If I ever catch your spy, he's going to be very sorry. Maybe we could send another messenger to camp—"

"I've already done it," Chiron said. "Blackjack is on his way. But if Silena wasn't able to convince Clarisse, I doubt Blackjack will be able—"

A roar shook the ground. It sounded very close.

Will came up then, probably bearing more bad news. Without waiting for anyone to ask, he proved Percy right. "Nico is gone."

"Wha-that twerp!" Thalia groaned. "Just when we needed him."

"This is his fate." Rachel said. "His actions will bring us reinforcements."

"His father? Ophis? Both?" Annabeth asked.

"I don't know." Rachel confessed apologetically.

"Then what good are you." Annabeth shot back snidely.

Rachel bristled and was prepared to retort somehow but Percy cut her off before she could.

"We can worry about Nico later." Turning to face the mortal squarely in the eyes, he said. "Rachel, get inside the building."

"I want to stay."

A shadow blotted out the sun. Across the street, the drakon slithered down the side of a skyscraper. It roared, and a thousand windows shattered.

"On second thought," Rachel corrected herself in a small voice, "I'll be inside."

 **0 line break 0**

While Percy and his fellow Olympian loyalists fought a desperate, some would say suicidal, battle to defend the Empire State Building and its entrance to the gods' seat of power, Ophis and her uncle Koios were doing some sightseeing.

Despite having previously visited and even lived in New York City, Ophis had not had the chance to go sightseeing. As back then Nico had been too obsessed with his self imposed quest to revive their sister Bianca. Upon learning of this, Koios had asked for permission from Kronos to allow her to do so.

Certain of his victory and thus in a good mood, her Father had agreed.

With his King's permission, Koios had proceeded to take his niece on a whirlwind tour of the city's attractions. Visiting such notables as the Statue of Liberty and the Met.

Being divine beings, neither Ophis nor Koios actually needed sleep, so exploiting this fact her uncle had crammed in most of the city's famous tourist sights over the course of the night. Now as the Lord of Time's army was rousing itself for the final push, the two were at their last stop: Central Park Zoo's Tropical Rainforest Exhibit.

Ophis had wanted to see the many snakes that were kept there. As a snake goddess — or so everyone told her — she was curious about the different kinds of serpents that were supposedly her subjects. Though she was really getting tired of their asskissing attitude.

"If I hear one more snake call me something like the 'Great Serpent' I think I'm going to throw a fit." Ophis whined as they stepped out of the gallery. "It's not like the dracaenae can't stop calling me that already!"

Fidi, wrapped around her body as always, slackened her grip a little, as if in disappointment.

"Oh not you too, Fidi!" Ophis said, exasperated. "Please tell me you weren't thinking of calling me that."

"Of course not, my mistress." The snake nymph answered insincerely, not meeting Ophis' eyes.

Koios just laughed at his niece's adorable little tantrum.

"Liar." Ophis accused, before her look softened. "Though Fidi are you sure that your throat is feeling ok? It's just healed."

Fidi's throat had been badly hurt when she was skinned alive as punishment for Ophis helping her brother when her Father's forces had attempted to invade Camp Half-Blood. She had screamed so much during her torture that she had lost the ability to speak until just yesterday, when her healing finally finished.

"It is fine, My Lady."

"If you're sure…"

"Oh, stop pampering your servants so much Ophis." Koios advised with an amused smile. "They don't need your coddling."

"Making sure they're ok isn't coddling them, uncle." Ophis replied with crossed arms.

"Of course it is—"

The Titan of the North cut himself off as he sensed a surge of power nearby, turning around he faced the source and interposed himself protectively between it and his niece.

From a shadow portal stepped out Nico di Angelo, son of Hades.

"Ophis!" The boy shouted the moment he appeared.

"Nico?" Ophis replied, happy but confused.

"How did you get here son of Hades?" Koios demanded as he drew his sword.

Nico likewise raised his Stygian Iron blade and readied for battle. "You let down your guard, Titan. I slipped in before you could sense me and kick me out of the shadows."

Koios growled. He _had_ let down his guard. He had been so happy spending time with his little niece that he'd not noticed this pest slipping closer through the shadows.

"Well, no matter." The Titan of intelligence declared as he strode toward the son of Hades. "I'll just deal with you now."

Ophis was alarmed by this.

 _I don't want them to fight! I have to stop them._

Teleporting between the two males, Ophis held up a hand towards each of them, "Please, Big Brother, Uncle, don't fight. Please!"

Neither the Titan nor the the demigod heeded her words. Instead they began circling each other, going around a despondent Ophis.

"I'm sorry Oppy. But there's no way he'll let me rescue you without one."

"Hah!" The Titan scoffed. "Rescue her? Do you honestly believe Ophis needs _you_ to rescue her?"

The seven year old, spoke up again more desperately this time to prevent the fight. "Both of you! Please, don't do this! Please!"

A apologetic look flashed across Nico's face but he shook his head at Ophis and refocused his attention on his would-be opponent.

Koios in contrast, relaxed his stance a little as a sly smile crossed his face.

"I have an idea, niece, if you don't want me to fight the boy, then why not fight him yourself?"

The two siblings both let out a simultaneous, "What?"

Ophis however overcame her shock quickly and began pondering the merits of her uncle's suggestion.

 _I don't_ want _to fight Nico... But if_ I'm _the one doing the fighting… then he wouldn't get too hurt._

"Alright." Ophis said with resolve.

"Ophis? What are you doing?" A shocked Nico asked.

"I'll go easy on you, Big Brother. Uncle won't." The little girl explained. Koios just nodded in the background, agreeing with his niece's reasoning.

"I don't want to fight you, Oppy."

"I don't want to fight you either, Big Brother."

"There is a third option, son of Hades. Pledge your allegiance to my brother's cause, and you can avoid this fight." The Titan offered, with a sadistic smile on his face.

"And join the sadistic bastards that enjoy seeing siblings fight each other? I'd rather die." Nico spat.

"That can be arran—"

"Uncle!"

"Fine! Fine!" Koios said placatingly, before becoming stern and glared at the son of Hades. "You're heard your options, boy, make your choice."

Nico shifted uneasily in uncertainty for a moment before his stance firmed up. "I swore to do anything I could to rescue you Ophis. If that means having to fight you to do it. Then… I don't like it, but I'll do it."

Ophis was both horrified and touched by this. She was horrified that her brother would go so far just to save her and at the same time touched by the same.

Her Titan uncle just laughed in dark amusement at the whole affair.

As the Titan's laughter died away, Nico charged, not at Ophis but at Koios. The Titan didn't react, he didn't need to.

Before Nico was anywhere near striking distance of the Titan, Ophis had teleported in front of him and deflected his blade with a sweep of a bare arm.

"Fidi," Ophis said calmly as Nico leapt back, "Get off, please."

"Yes mistress." Her servant said as she obeyed, slithering off her body and to safety.

"So we're really fighting then?" Nico asked his sister.

"I can't let you fight Uncle." Ophis replied.

Nico nodded and charged once again, going with a slash across Ophis' chest, painful and debilitating but not fatal if it struck.

Ophis didn't bother to even block this attack, and just stood there as Nico's blade deflected off some kind of invisible armor around her body.

"You have some kind of protective spell?" Nico asked his sister.

"Hardly something so mundane, son of Hades." Koios answered in her stead, his voice dripping with pride. "That's Ophis' 'Dimensional Armor', a protective field so strong it can deflect even Kronos' scythe. It was something that I helped her develop."

"You're taking lessons from Titans now, Oppy?" Nico asked teasingly as he tried a overhead cleave, which again was effortlessly deflected.

"I didn't have a choice." Ophis replied, her gaze dropping down to her feet for a moment before coming back up, though she didn't meet his eyes.

"Hey, sorry about that." Nico apologized as he stepped back. "I know you didn't. I was just teasing."

"Oh!"

"But don't you think it's time to come home already?" Nico said as he launched into a series of quick thrusts, that likewise proved ineffective.

"Home?" Ophis asked questioningly.

"She is home, son of Hades." Koios mocked, "Or have you forgotten that we Titans are her family by blood."

"So what?" Said son of Hades retorted, as he gave up on physical attacks with his sword and instead fired off a shadowbolt at Ophis who shrugged the attack off entirely. "Blood alone doesn't make family. Love does. Can you say the Titans love you, Oppy?"

Ophis shot a glance at her uncle, who was furious and indignant at her brother's insinuation that he didn't love her.

"Ok, maybe he does. But the rest? Your father?" Nico accused.

The Titan seemed mollified by this and stood down once more, content to watch this play out.

"What does this have to do with home?" Ophis asked, confused.

"Everything." Nico explained. "Home is wherever family are, and we're family. So your home is with me."

"Nico…" Ophis said as she began sniffling, she was so touched.

Koios seeing this was furious. "You dare make her cry!?" Raising his sword he strode towards the demigod, "I'll cut you in half for that!"

Ophis turned quickly and faced her uncle, a smile on her face even as she cried happy tears. "Uncle! It's ok."

Koios didn't seem fully convinced but nevertheless relaxed. Though he moved to stand protectively behind his niece.

Ophis on the other hand whirled back around to look at Nico seriously, "Do you really mean it?"

"Yes." Nico declared solemnly.

Ophis burst into happy sobs at this.

The overprotective Titan uncle responded to this by gathering his power to smite the foolish little demigod who made his niece cry, but was stopped from doing so when he was pulled up short by Ophis' next question.

"But then what about Uncle Koios? He's family too!"

Shocked speechless by his niece, Koios let his gathered power dissipate.

Nico was likewise shocked, he didn't know what to say to that.

A moment of awkward silence passed, only to be broken by a uncertain and teary Ophis.

"That's not ok?"

Both males exchanged looks at this, then looked at Ophis before finally exchanging nods.

"Whatever you say, Ophis." Nico grudgingly agreed.

"If you wish—" Koios began only to be cut off.

" **Koios! Stop being a sentimental fool and just kill Hades' brat. We can deal with Ophis' tantrum later. And do it quickly! We've almost breached their final defenses as is. I want you and Ophis here for our final triumph.** " A chilling and powerful voice reverberated through the air.

"Father!" Ophis squeaked in alarm.

The Titan of the North looked down for a moment, a move that obscured his face. When he finally raised his face once more, he looked visibly pained.

"I'm sorry, Ophis. But Kronos is my King."

Nico tensed, preparing himself as best he could to face the Titan.

"Please, Uncle. Don't do this, please!"

"I'm sorry." Koios said as he gathered his power once more.

"If you try, I'll stop you!" Ophis threatened.

"Do what you must, my niece." Koios said as he gave her an understanding look.

With that he threw his right hand forward sending a blast of killing frost barreling towards the son of Hades.

Shaking her hand in denial, Ophis retaliated with her own blast of raw black and white energy that easily overpowered Koios' attack, dispelling it and striking the Titan.

The blast tore a hole right through Koios' chest.

Nico was flabbergasted. He knew his sister, being a protogenoi, was powerful but to be able to destroy Titans with ease? That was insane. Cool, but crazy.

Whilst Nico was caught up in his realization of what it really meant to have a little sister that could causally kill gods, said sister rushed to her dying uncle's side.

"Uncle, I'm sorry!" Ophis cried. "Nico's my brother, I couldn't let you—"

"I know." Koios said as he raised one arm to ruffle his niece's hair. "I forgive you." His body began to disintegrate into gold dust, but he managed a few more last words. "I love you."

Ophis began weeping mournfully.

Nico pulled her into a comforting hug that was soon joined by Fidi in her human form. Together the two held the little girl as she cried out her grief.

Finally, after crying for about ten minutes, Ophis gently pushed her family aside and stood, a look of grim determination on her face.

"Oppy, you ok?" Nico asked concerned.

Ophis didn't reply, instead still wiping tears from her face she turned to her servant. "Fidi."

"Yes, mistress." The nymph said deferentially as she fell to her knees and awaited her mistress' instructions.

"Go into the city, rally the dracaenae and give them my command: The Titans are our enemy. Destroy all who side with them." Ophis ordered, her voice steady without a hint of her grief but filled with anger.

"Oppy?" Nico asked concerned by her sudden mood swing.

"The Titans just forced me to kill my uncle, Big Brother! One I loved! I'm not going to let them get away with it."

"And if they do not obey?" Fidi questioned, "They may prove to be more loyal to the Titans than to you, mistress."

"Then destroy them. All who side with the Titans are our enemy." Ophis said in a chilling voice that sent a shiver down Nico's spine. _She_ really _is Kronos' daughter isn't she?_

"As you command, my mistress."

"Err..Ophis," She wasn't Oppy, not now, not when she was commanding her servants like the goddess she was. "As badass as Fidi no doubt is, if the dracaenae don't obey you, I don't think she can take on a whole army of monsters."

Fidi looked offended at this, as if pointing out her relative weakness against an _army_ to her mistress was a grave insult.

"She won't be alone. The Titans have an army?" Ophis said her eyes narrowed at the gallery full of snakes that less than an hour ago she had toured with her beloved uncle. "Well, I can summon one of my own."

With those words, her power surged out of her and spread out across all of Manhattan zeroing in on the many snakes on the island. Those in the zoo, in pet shops, or in the wild of the urban jungle, the power of the Great Serpent sought them all out.

As one they were empowered, they became monstrous in size, their scales grew harder than the strongest armor the mortals had ever dreamed of, those with venom found their poisons enhanced into deadly spitting acid, constrictors suddenly sprouted retractable spines along their sides that they could use as buzzsaws even as they crushed their prey, and all of them, every last one, grew the mark of the Ouroboros on their brows, the mark of Ophis.

" **Serpents of Manhattan! Heed the call of your Queen! Crush the Titans!** " Ophis commanded her army, before turning to Fidi. " **Fidi Douli, my faithful servant, lead my army to victory."**

"I hear and obey!" Fidi replied with gusto as she changed form into a truly massive serpent, at least a hundred feet and probably more in length, and slithered into the city at the head of a wave of hundreds of newly monstrous zoo snakes.

"What now, Ophis?" Nico asked, awestruck by what Ophis had just done, once the army of snakes had crawled away to wreak havoc on the Titans.

"What now, Big Brother?" Ophis replied, her voice still chillingly cold, as she gazed in the direction of Olympus. "Now we pay my father a much overdue visit."

"Ok then. I'll just Shadow Travel us to the Empire State Building—"

"No need. Just take my hand and close your eyes Big Brother."

Nico looked confused, but did as he was told. After what Ophis had just done, he honestly trusted she could do anything.

Ophis took a moment to make sure her brother had his eyes closed, before she began.

For a moment, her body glowed a brilliant gold. The light of a magical metamorphosis. The light that preluded a divine being taking their true form. As the golden light faded, Ophis was transformed. Where before she was a seven year old little girl, now she was an immense serpent, one made of innumerable smaller snakes which made up her scales, snakes of alternating blinding white and light sucking black. Midway down her coils were a set of enormous wings so massive they seemed to extend forever, and they did, with the infinite reach of space and time spread out across them like patterns on a normal snake.

It was a sight that would have driven anyone who saw it into an infinite loop of both insanity and sanity, even as their physical body disintegrated at the incomprehensible metaphysical weight of being in her presence. Fortunately, for Nico, the only mortal awake and within range of sight to be at risk, he had both his eyes firmly closed and was protected by his sister's now infinite power.

Turning towards Olympus, Ophis teleported right into it, Nico grasped securely within her coils. For a brief instant, the wards tried to resist her, but she brushed them aside without destroying them — there was a war going on and they were still needed. She was the embodiment of the infinite scope of time and space, if she wanted to be at a certain time and space, _nothing_ could deny her.

With a burst of black and white light, Ophis, back in her human guise, and Nico appeared in a park on Olympus.


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson.**

 **The Search for Home**

 **Family**

 **Betas: Engineer4Ever and Siegfried01**

 **0 line break 0**

 **Chapter 7: The Battle of Manhattan - Part 3: The Death of a Tyrant**

Nico looked around in awe at the beautiful parkland around him and the grandiose golden buildings that surrounded it, it was a paradise.

"This is Olympus!" Nico breathed out in astonishment. "You just teleported us right through the wards and into Olympus!"

"I'm a little off though." Ophis admittedly sheepishly. "I was aiming for the Throne Room, but it looks like we're a little ways down the road from it."

"Still…" Nico said still stupefied by what his sister had just done. "What you did was incredible."

"It was nothing." Ophis said with a blush. "I do wonder why I missed though, I shouldn't have."

"No, you shouldn't." The voice of an old lady sounded from down the road to the Throne Room.

"We redirected you." A second old lady said.

"You should have been more careful with your targeting, youngling," A third old lady's voice added. "Just Olympus? Easy for anyone who knows how to redirect something so vague."

Both Nico and Ophis tensed at the sound of the voices.

"Who are you? Show yourselves!" Nico demanded.

"But of course," the first voice said as she stepped out of the arched doorway of a building, revealing a white robed old lady. "I'm Clotho."

"I'm Lachesis," said a second old woman dressed in white as she stepped out from a shadowed alley between two buildings.

"And I'm Atropos," the last old woman in white said as she walked out from behind a tree.

"And together we are the Fates!" The three personifications of destiny declared together.

The two young children just looked at the powerful ancients in shock, finally Ophis expressed what both of them were thinking.

"Did the three of you just introduce yourselves like you were the Power Rangers?"

The Fates looked put out by that.

"Everyone's a critic." Clotho complained.

"Youngsters these days don't know how to appreciate the classics." Lachesis added with a nod.

Atrophos just shook her head as if disappointed in the children.

" **Enough of this nonsense!** " Ophis' shouted in irritation with a hint of her power lacing her voice, before letting it fade after she'd gotten the Fates' attention. "Explain what you want from us, Fates, and quickly, I have a meeting with my father to rush to."

"I'm afraid that's exactly why we're here." Clotho began.

"You see, we can't let you meet your father right now." Lachesis continued.

"If you do, you'll kill him and that will just ruin our beautiful tapestry." Atrophos added.

"We already have his end stitched in quite nicely." Clotho picked up again.

"Beautifully, indeed." Lachesis commented.

"And it's not at your hands, little one." Atrophos finished.

"To the Pit with your tapestry." Nico shouted. "After what Kronos did and plans to do, who cares who kills him!?"

Ophis just gathered her power, preparing for the fight she knew was inevitable.

"Oh, the Pit?" Clotho said with a laugh. "Our tapestry covers him too."

"Just like it covers your little sister too." Lachesis said gesturing towards Ophis.

"Though it's notoriously lax when it comes to people like her. Especially her, Little Miss Reality." Atrophos said with a sigh. "She thinks just because she's the embodiment of the universe she can willy-nilly change fate however she wants. If she had better self-control, we wouldn't be here."

"So you are going to fight us to stop us from killing Kronos just to keep your precious tapestry intact?" Nico accused.

"Yes." "Yup." "Unfortunately." The three fates replied.

"That's crazy!" Nico exclaimed.

"You may not get it." Clotho began again.

"But fate is important." Lachesis continued.

"Without it the world would unravel." Atrophos finished.

"Enough talk," Ophis said as her patience ran out. "Either fight or get out of our way."

"Aw!" Clotho said as she shot a mass of thread at the two children from a portable spindle that appeared under her arm.

"We thought we might get to skip the fight." Lachesis added.

"By talking to you two for long enough." Atrophos concluded.

"Too bad!" Ophis declared as she destroyed the thread that had tied down her and Nico with a burst of power. "We've not going to make things easier for you."

"Pity." "Shame." "What a waste."

In response to the Fates' complaints, Ophis sent an energy wave towards the three ancients.

Unperturbed, Atrophos lazily stepped forward and held up a pair of scissors which she promptly used to cut the leading edge of Ophis' attack. The moment the tool snapped shut on the wave, the attack dissipated.

"Wha—... how?" Ophis said shocked by this development. She'd seen not long ago how powerful her energy attacks could be and the Fate just nullified it so easily? It was unbelievable.

"All things must come to an end." Atrophos explained with a knowing smirk.

Nico kept his cool though, and instead charged the Fates. He, unfortunately, was intercepted by a surprising sprightly Lachesis wielding a measuring rod.

"You are surprisingly agile for an old lady." Nico commented as he began dueling the Fate.

Lachesis gave him a toothless smile in response, "Well, an old lady has to keep fit, you know."

"Come on Atrophos, let's go deal with the girl while Lachesis has the boy busy."

"Right. Clotho."

Drawing clubs from nowhere, the two Fates began advancing on the little girl.

Nico tried to disengage from Lachesis and rush to Ophis' aid, but Lachesis cut him off.

"Sorry kiddie. You're not going anywhere."

"Damn." Nico cursed, and shouted to Ophis in warning. "Ophis, they're coming. Watch out."

Ophis didn't need the warning. The moment she saw the Fates advancing, she began bombarding them with energy blasts. Unfortunately, Atrophos managed to use her scissors to dispel all of those that might have hit them. Thankfully however, those that didn't hit managed to do some damage as their powerful impacts sent up storms of debris that peppered the two Fates and forced them into hiding.

"I'll handle them, Nico!" Ophis shouted back. "Focus on Lachesis."

"Right! Just be careful!" Nico said as he parried a thrust from his opponent.

"You too!" Ophis replied as she telekinetically picked up objects nearby — statues, benches, shrubs and trees — and began throwing them at Atrophos and Clotho. Mixing her salvo with energy blasts aimed at the ground around the two Fates to shower them in sharpnel.

"Damn, she's figured out how to hit us." Clotho cursed as she dove for cover behind a building that promptly got demolished by Ophis' attack.

"Well, that's to be expected." Atrophos mused as she followed her sister's lead and took refuge behind a large statue of Zeus. "She's a smart little thing after all."

The fight soon devolved into a stalemate.

Lachesis and Nico were both evenly matched, and unable to disengage, each time one tried the other would cut them off.

On the other side of the battle, Clotho and Atropos couldn't advance on Ophis as her bombardment had them both pinned down but the young protogenoi couldn't hit them either.

Frustrated, Ophis decided to up the ante. Concentrating, she picked up a whole building, a large shrine to Apollo, and tossed it straight at the two Fates.

"You're kidding me!" "Oh Abyss!" Her two opponents cursed as they ran for cover.

As the thrown building slammed into the ground with a massive crash, Lachesis and Nico split apart in surprise.

"Clotho, Atropos, you two ok?" Lachesis asked, surprisingly unconcerned.

"Fine." "A little dirty, but I'm fine too."

Ophis picked up a new building, this time a shrine to Artemis, and readied to throw it.

"Stop." "Pause." "Cut it out" The three Fates said seemingly in response.

"You three are giving up?" Nico asked carefully, his weapon still held ready.

"Nope." Clotho denied.

"We're done." Lachesis explained.

"We've delayed you long enough." Atrophos finished.

"What do you mean?" Ophis cautiously pressed, still holding Artemis' shrine in the air.

"Well you can figure that out yourself." Clotho began as he she began to fade.

"Go ahead and find your father, little primordial." Lachesis continued as she too began to disappear.

"You'll see what we mean once you do." Atrophos finished as she and her sisters disappeared.

"Nico, what just happened?" Ophis asked, confused, as she put Artemis' shrine down.

"I dunno, Oppy." Nico said scratching her head. "I'm just as confused as you are."

After a moment of the two looking at each other in confusion, Ophis seemed to regain her equilibrium.

"Let's just ignore it for now and go deal with father."

"Right." Nico agreed.

Together the duo rushed into the Throne Room only to see that the Second Titan War was finishing up without them. Annabeth was lying slumped against Athena's throne, Grover holding and shielding her; an unarmed Percy was standing in front of Luke — no longer shrouded in malice and power; Kronos wasn't in control — as the vessel of the Titan King stabbed himself.

It wasn't a deep cut, but Luke howled. His eyes glowed like they were on fire. The Throne Room shook, throwing Percy off his feet, and threatened to do the same for the two new arrivals too. Ophis quickly threw up a shield to protect the both of them. Meanwhile, an aura of energy surrounded Luke, growing brighter and brighter. The others in the Throne Room were blinded by the light but behind Ophis' shield both she and Nico could see light — Kronos' essence — exploding out of Luke's body.

 _So I couldn't kill father myself?_ Ophis lamented. _Well, at least I can add a little salt to the wound._

Slashing her hand through the air, Ophis called into being a number of portals to the myriad corners of the universe and sucked her father's scattering essence through them.

 _Let's see you recover from that._

As the blinding light passed, Luke — only Luke now — lay sprawled at the hearth at the centre of the room. On the floor around him was a blackened circle of ash. A pool of molten metal: the remains of Kronos' scythe, Ophis' power told her, was trickling into the coals of the hearth, where the coals were glowing red hot.

Luke's left side was bloody. His eyes were open—blue eyes, the way Ophis had heard they'd been before her father possessed him. His breath was a deep rattle.

"Good . . . blade," he croaked.

Ignoring him, Nico turned to his sister. "Ophis, what did you do?"

"Sent _father's_ " Ophis spat the word, "essence to the far corners of the universe. He's so scattered now, he'll probably never recover."

Nico smirked cruelly, "Fitting."

The siblings returned their attention to the other four occupants of the Throne Room.

They found Percy knelt down next to Luke, with Annabeth standing next to them with Grover's support. The latter both had tears in their eyes.

"Shhh." Annabeth said, her voice trembling. "You were a hero at the end, Luke. You'll go to Elysium."

He shook his head weakly. "Think...rebirth. Try for three times. Isles of the Blest."

Annabeth sniffled. "You always pushed yourself too hard."

He held up a hand, that was badly charred for some reason. Annabeth touched his fingertips.

"Did you..." Luke coughed and his lips glistened red. "Did you love me?"

Annabeth wiped her tears away. "There was a time I thought...well, I thought..." She looked at Percy, like she was drinking in the fact that he was still there. And he was doing the same thing to her.

 _Get a room!_ Ophis thought to herself, amused by their antics.

"You were like a brother to me, Luke," Annabeth said in a soft voice after a moment. "But I didn't love you."

He nodded, as if he'd expected it. He winced in pain.

"We can get ambrosia," Grover said. "We can—"

"No." Ophis said, entering the conversation. "It's too late. His fate is finished."

Everyone, except Nico, startled at that. Apparently they'd not noticed the duo's arrival at all.

"Grover, Ophis is right." Luke gulped. "You're the bravest satyr I ever knew. But no. There's no healing..."

He coughed again and turned to look at the young protogenoi. "Ophis. I'm so sorry for what Kronos did to you." Next to her Nico tensed, but Ophis grabbed his hand and gave a squeeze that was both comforting and restraining. "I tried to stop him" A lie, Ophis knew, Luke only ever mustered the strength to resist her father when his friends' were in danger from him. "But…"

"The past is the past." Ophis said simply, without offering her forgiveness.

Both Nico and Annabeth seemed to catch her meaning as they both tensed.

"That's the best I'm gonna get, isn't it?" Luke said regretfully before coughing again.

Ophis just nodded. Nico was unhappy about this but seemed willing to follow Ophis' lead. Annabeth looked relieved that Ophis wasn't pushing the issue.

Suddenly, with a burst of his fading strength, Luke gripped Percy's sleeve.

"Ethan. Me. All the unclaimed. Don't let it...Don't let it happen again."

His eyes were angry, but pleading too.

"I won't," Percy agreed, his eyes hard. "I promise."

Luke nodded, and his hand went slack.

The gods arrived a few minutes later in their full war regalia, thundering into the Throne Room and expecting a battle.

What they found were three demigods, a satyr and a primordial goddess standing over the body of a broken half-blood, in the dim warm light of the hearth.

"Percy," Poseidon called to his son, awe in his voice. "What...what is this?"

Percy turned and faced the Olympians.

"We need a shroud," He announced, his voice cracking. "A shroud for the son of Hermes."


	9. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson.**

 **The Search for Home**

 **Family**

 **Betas: Engineer4Ever and Siegfried01**

 **0 line break 0**

 **Epilogue: Rewards**

The Three Fates themselves showed up to take Luke's body. When they appeared, Ophis teleported into their way and glared at them.

The Throne Room's occupants — gods, half-bloods, monsters, nature spirits — all tensed. All terrified, even if some would never admit it, that a fight between the two incredibly powerful forces would break out.

Unbeknownst to them, what really happened was a private telepathic conversation.

" _So this is what you meant by Fate being important?"_ Ophis asked.

" _Yes, if you intervened, Luke would never have been given the chance to redeem himself."_ Atropos began.

" _And then things would snowball from there as that one change leads to everything changing."_ Lachesis continued.

" _And then everything will came apart at the seams."_ Clotho concluded as she and her sisters sent Ophis a vision of that future: of Olympus surviving one war but falling to another, as demigods and minor gods dissatisfied with the outcome of the Titan War once again sided with a new enemy; of Nico and many of her friends dying in this new war; and of Ophis going mad with grief and destroying the planet.

Ophis had recoiled at the vision, a reaction that earned her concern from many others, Nico even moved to join her. But she waved them all away. What she saw was for her alone. A very disturbing visual lesson on the value of Fate.

After that little altercation, the three ancient grandmothers walked on and had a brief encounter with Percy as well that left him rattled. Ophis was curious about what they'd said to him, but dismissed the thought, if it was anything like her own encounter with the three sisters than it was no one's business but his own.

Finally, with the two disruptions out of the way, the Fates _finally_ gathered up Luke's body, now wrapped in a white-and-green shroud, and began carrying it out of the throne room.

Only to be interrupted again, this time by his father, Hermes.

Ophis rolled her eyes at this. She was getting tired of these repeated delays.

Thankfully, the messenger god was brief. Just a kiss to his son's face, a blessing and a goodbye.

 _Better focus on something else, I may find all this a waste of time but the other people are mourning here and I can at least respect that._

Putting thoughts to action, Ophis reached out with her mind to her lieutenant, Fidi.

" _Fidi, what's going on in the city?"_

" _Everything is going well, mistress."_ Fidi responded immediately, sounding unsurprised by the telepathic communication even though it was the first time Ophis had used it. " _Most of the dracaenae obeyed your command and joined us. Between them and your new army of serpents and Hades' underworld armies, we easily overwhelmed the Titans' forces. We're mopping up the stragglers now."_

" _Good."_ Ophis thought with a twinge of vindictive pleasure. " _So Hades brought his army with him to the fight?"_

In the background, Ophis dimly noted Percy was calling for help with Annabeth's injuries and Apollo going to handle the matter.

" _He did mistress, just as we swarmed the Titans ourselves."_ Fidi explained sounding a little upset _. "He was probably waiting for a chance to make a dramatic game changing appearance. And he just had to choose our moment of glory to do it."_

" _Glory doesn't matter. What matters is we won."_

" _Of course, my mistress."_ Fidi replied loyally, though she sounded a little disappointed.

" _Fidi, I'm going to release my hold on the snakes of Manhattan now, make sure they get back to where they're supposed to."_

" _Yes, my lady,"_ Fidi dutifully replied. " _But what of those who wish to join your service permanently?"_

" _Take them with you to a safe place along with our loyal dracaenae. But keep their numbers reasonable, I don't want the whole city's population of snakes disappearing overnight."_ Ophis warned. " _I'll leave the selection of who we take up to you, but remember be reasonable."_

" _I will."_

" _Good. I leave whatever else that we need to handle in the city to you, Fidi, I'll deal with the Olympians."_

" _As you command."_

With that Ophis cut her connection, secure in the knowledge that her trusted lieutenant would take care of things below.

The next few hours were pretty boring for Ophis, who had nothing to do, as everyone else ran around setting things to right.

Percy made an odd request to have that the top of the Empire State Building lit up blue. Some kind of message to his mom to let her know he was safe. Beyond that though nothing interesting happened as the gods set about repairing the Throne Room, which they managed in a expectedly short amount of time. They did have twelve _gods_ doing the work after all.

Things only got interesting for Ophis once the sky bridge that connected Olympus to the Empire State Building, that had apparently been destroyed by Kronos, re-formed. As with the reconnection, the surviving campers began trickling in. Ophis, with Nico in tow, quickly went around looking for her old friends from camp.

She found Will and Miranda together. Will was helping a wounded Miranda across the sky bridge. Seeing Miranda limping badly and how exhausted Will was, Ophis promptly teleported the both of them over.

"What?" Both demigods said in surprise even as Ophis rushed to hug them in turn.

"Will, Miranda, it's good to see you both!" The seven year old gushed.

"Ophis?" Miranda asked, confused. "How are you here? The last we heard any news about you was when your army tore the Titans apart."

Ophis blushed. "They weren't that impressive."

"Trust us, Ophis. We were there and your army was badass." Will said sincerely.

Ophis just blushed more brightly.

Nico spoke up then. "You're too modest for your own good, Little Sister."

The little girl blushed even more brightly, and the three friends laughed though Miranda winced almost immediately as doing so pulled on her injury.

"Oh! Miranda, you're injured. Here let me help." Ophis said as she used her power to heal Miranda and as an afterthought gave both Will and her own brother a little boost to their flagging strength.

The trio proceeded to offer her their thanks, but Ophis waved them off.

"It was nothing." She looked around the area then, it was filling up with campers. "Where's Silena and Chiron?"

Both Will and Miranda winced at the mention of Silena, but the latter nevertheless began to explain, "Chiron got buried under some rubble but Mrs. O'Leary, Percy's pet hellhound, dug him out and rushed him back to camp, he's badly hurt but he's alive."

"I'll go heal him later." Ophis said with certainty.

Both campers let out a sigh of relief at that. "But what about Silena?"

The two exchanged pained looks but neither spoke.

It was Nico who explained. "She died."

"How? When?" Ophis exclaimed in shock.

"She died fighting the Lydian drakon, when we were fighting in Central Park Zoo."

"Oh," Ophis said in a small voice, a tear flowing down her cheek.

The quartet gave a minute of silence to their fallen friend.

Just then Hades arrived and unexpectedly received a hero's welcome, despite the fact that Hades was only supposed to visit Olympus on the winter solstice. The god of the dead looked stunned when his relatives clapped him on the back.

At the sight of him, Nico looked torn but Ophis gave him an encouraging push and reluctantly he headed over to talk to his father.

Distantly, Ophis heard Hades explaining how it had been Nico's words to him about his mother, Maria di Angelo, and the idea of family as well as his single minded determination to rescue Ophis no matter what that had ultimately moved him to come to aid Olympus.

Ophis tuned out the rest, Nico may have been her Big Brother but what went on between him and his father was his business.

It took a while, which Ophis spent companionably chatting with Will and Miranda as they went around letting Ophis heal any of the injured, before the Olympian Council convened.

As one of the main topics of discussion, Ophis naturally had to attend, so with a goodbye to her two friends from camp she rejoined Nico by Hades' side and headed to the Throne Room. They arrived as Zeus was in the middle of talking—some long speech about the bravery of the gods, etc. Ophis and Nico ignored him and started up a game of Mythomagic.

Zeus interrupted his speech to glare at them when he noticed, but Ophis just flared her aura and the King of the gods quailed, much to the amusement of many in the room.

"I think I like you already, little sister." Hades told her in response to her putting their brother in his place.

Ophis sent him a blinding smile in response. Something that had Aphrodite cooing about how cute she was.

After Zeus recovered from being scared into backing down by a little girl, he droned on for a good while yet.

Ophis and Nico just continued their game, no one dared to make an issue again. By the Abyss, Percy and Annabeth even came over to watch them play, apparently it was more interesting than hearing Zeus talk. Something at least a handful of the Olympians seem to agree with too if their scrying spells directed at their match was anything to go by.

After thanking his brothers for their help with saving Olympus, Zeus _finally_ got to the part which involved Ophis.

"Now onto probably the most important thing for today. The fate of the protogenoi, Ophis. She is a threat to Olympus, I say we exile her to some appropriate place where she cannot endanger us."

Everyone in the Throne Room shot the King of the gods incredulous looks.

"Err…Pardon me, Lord Zeus. But are you suggesting exiling the insanely powerful protogenoi, our newest sister mind you, to some forgotten corner of the world after she just helped save us all just because you're afraid of her? " Poseidon asked summing up what everyone was thinking.

"I'm not afraid of her." Zeus said, only to be interrupted by Apollo.

"Lie."

The Lord of the Sky sent his son a glare before continuing as if he wasn't interrupted. "I just think it's not prudent to let such a powerful force run free."

The other Olympians broke into debate at this. The other eleven disagreed with Zeus but nothing they said could sway him.

"They do realize you're right here, right?" Percy said to Ophis. The Olympians were arguing so loudly now, they didn't even hear him.

"They quite possibly have forgotten about that entirely." Hades chimed in.

Ophis just shook her head and gathered her power.

" **Enough!** " The youngest child of Kronos shouted with the full weight of her power directed at the Olympians, who despite being in their seat of power nevertheless flinched. " **I am Ophis, Time and Space Embodied, The Infinite Serpent. The twelve of you have no authority over me.** "

The Throne Room was stunned into silence by this.

Hades smirked, pleased that the Olympians had been put into their place.

The silence was finally broken by Athena.

"Perhaps it would be best to respect the wishes, Father, of quite possibly the most powerful being active in the world?"

Zeus said nothing, though he looked mutinous.

With a sigh, Hera took charge. "Let's just vote. All in favor of Athena's proposal?"

All the Olympians save Zeus raised their hands.

"Zeus?" Hera asked as a formality.

"I abstain."

"Very well, the motion passes. We will not _attempt_ ," here her gaze flitted to Zeus for a moment, "to impose our authority over Ophis."

"Which leaves us," Zeus said cutting in abruptly in a transparent bid to retake control over the proceedings, "only the matter of thanking our young demigod heroes, who defended Olympus so well—even if there are a few dents in my throne."

Ophis went back to ignoring him as he called his daughter, Thalia, forward. Instead, she turned to Hades.

"Hades, do you mind if I live with Nico?"

Hades just smiled at that, "In the underworld?"

Ophis shot Nico a look. He nodded, and she turned back to address the Lord of the dead.

"Sometimes. I just want to go wherever Nico goes. He's my home."

The hearth at the centre of the room burned more brightly for an instance as she said that.

"If you wish, I have no objections." Hades agreed easily.

"Thank you!" Ophis cheered loudly, and hugged the Rich One.

Hades was uncertain how to respond at first since it was his first experience of over enthusiastic little sisters, but eventually after some pantomimed instructions from a number of others- Hestia in the hearth, his son Nico, an amused Aphrodite and even his exasperated wife- he proceeded to return the hug.

"You're welcome, Ophis."

Whilst this was going on, Zeus had steadily carried on with his awards ceremony, completely ignoring Ophis and Hades. He'd promised Thalia help in filling the Hunters' ranks.

This was followed by Artemis promising that her Hunters who died in the Battle of Manhattan would go to Elysium which she ended with pointedly clearing her throat and glaring at Hades.

Still dealing with a clingy little sister, the lord of the dead just nodded.

Zeus continued doling out rewards after that but Ophis ignored what was going on. It didn't concern her anymore and after releasing Hades, she just went back to her Mythomagic game with Nico, chatting with him all the while about where they could go and what they could do now that the war was over.

While she was doing this, the cyclops Tyson was made a general of Olympus and granted a new club; Grover became a member of the Council of Cloven Elders; and Annabeth became the official architect of Olympus.

But what really shook things up was when Percy's turn came around, he was offered godhood but turned it down! Instead he asked for the gods to properly recognize the children of the gods by having them, all the gods, claim their demigods when they turned thirteen. As if that wasn't enough he then asked that that the minor gods and the peaceful Titan-kind be pardoned. And as if that _still_ wasn't enough, he also requested that there be cabins at Camp Half-Blood for all gods with demigod children, both for Hades and the minor gods. He even had them swear an Oath to Styx on it.

The gods grumbled about it, even when Athena pointed out that Percy was only asking for reasonable things. The gods knew that, they just didn't like being forced to admit that by a mortal, even if he was one of their children.

They might have kept grumbling for hours, but Ophis was getting hungry and she really wanted to leave so she intervened.

"I think it's a great idea." Ophis said loudly enough for all to hear. "In fact, I think I'll even help Styx enforce your Oath about doing whatever Percy asked."

The vote went quickly and easily after that. The Council unanimously agreed to do as Percy asked.

With that everyone dispersed.

Ophis latching onto Nico's arm dragged him toward the sky-bridge.

"Ophis, where are we going?" Nico said as he waved a hasty goodbye to his father.

"To go find Fidi down in the city and go eat." Ophis explained. "I'm hungry."

"Then why are we going to the Empire State Building? Can't you just teleport us down?"

"That would be rude Nico," Ophis said with a pout. "There isn't a war on anymore, I can't just go bypassing people's wards like that."

"There's etiquette to teleporting?"

"Sure there are," Ophis said cheerfully, "I'll explain them to you on the elevator ride down."

"Um…sure."

 **0 line break 0**

A week after the Battle of Manhattan, Nico and Ophis were sitting on a bench enjoying the sunny weather.

"What's taking Fidi so long?" Ophis whined.

"Did you see the queue, Oppy?" Nico replied. "She's going to take a while."

"But I'm hungry."

"How? I mean you don't even strictly _need_ to eat."

"Doesn't mean I can't."

"That doesn't explain anything." Nico said exasperatedly.

"It does, Big Brother. You're just a little too dim to get it." Ophis said teasingly.

"Hey! You take that back. Or else!" NIco threatened.

"Or else what?" Ophis haughtily asked.

"Or else I do this." The older brother cried as he launched a merciless tickle attack on his little sister.

Not to be outdone, Ophis fought fire with fire and despite her involuntary laughter began returning the favor.

Soon the two siblings were laughing rambunctiously as they tickled each other relentlessly.

It was to this scene that Fidi returned to, her arms laden with snack food.

"Mistress, Nico, what are you two doing?"

Springing guiltily apart, the two children simultaneously said, "Nothing,"

The nymph just sighed.

"So you two say." She shook her head. "Now here's your food."

Ophis cheered as she accepted her share.

"Now that Ophis has her snacks, can we go see the attractions?" Nico asked as he munched on some popcorn.

"Sure." Ophis agreed. "I'll even use my powers so we don't need to queue for us to get on."

Nico blinked.

"And why didn't you let me do that earlier for the food, mistress?"

"'Cause the queue is part of the experience here isn't it? I wanted to try it out once." Ophis explained her thinking on the matter as she led her companions towards one of the rides.

The other two just boggled at her logic.

"But you weren't the one queueing." Nico pointed out in Fidi's defense as said nymph nodded her head in agreement.

"I didn't feel like queueing."

"Then what about the whole spiel about wanting the experience?" The son of Hades asked, confused.

"We waited for her didn't we?"

Nico and Fidi exchanged looks and sighed.

"But enough of that," Ophis declared with a brilliant smile. "We're at the Happiest Place on Earth so let's go have fun and be happy."

Sharing another look, the Infinite Serpent's brother and handmaiden smiled at Ophis' enthusiasm.

"Right." "Yes, mistress."

With that the trio set off to explore Disney's Magic Kingdom.

 ** **End.****


	10. Sequel Announcement

**AN:**

 **Hi all, just wanted to let everyone know that I've just finished publishing (for now) a snippet collection/sequel to** ** _The Search for Home_** **entitled** _ **Little Protogenoi's Tales**_ **. If you enjoyed this story, please do take a read of that as well to see how Ophis and her family's lives change after the Titan War.** _ **Little Protogenoi's Tales**_ **also serves as a bridge to the proper sequel to** ** _The Search for Home_** **, which I'm currently still working on. So in some ways it's a teaser for that story too. Really hope to see some of you in my new story.**


End file.
